ILLUSTRIOUS  *>ftMEFiicAK*  SERIES 


?&<$&&&s&s^^ 


LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 
HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


ABEAHAM  LINCOLN. 


(BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  SERIES  OF   ILLUSTRIOUS  AMERICANS.) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 


BACKWOODS     BOY; 

OR, 

HOW  A  YOUNG  RAIL-SPLITTER 
BECAME  PRESIDENT. 


BY 


HORATI;O    ALGER,    JR., 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD, 
"LUCK  AND  PLUCK,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


NEW    YORK: 

JOHN    R.    ANDERSON    &    HENRY    S.    ALLEN, 

66  &  68  READE  STREET. 

1883. 


COPYRIGHT,    1883,    B* 
HORATIO     ALGER,    JR. 


TO 

ALEXANDER    HENRIQUES. 

OF  NEW  YORK, 
^  PRESIDENT     OF     THE     OLD     GUARD, 

k  AND 

^9  VICE-CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  STOCK  EXCHANGE, 

Qtfcijs  "Folunu  is  3nstri&c& 

WITH  SINCERE  FRIENDSHIP   AND  REGARD. 


THE    BOYHOOD    AND    MANHOOD    SERIES 


"EMINENT    CHARACTERS    BY    EMINENT 
AUTHORS." 

Each  volume  complete  in  itself,  fully  illustrated,  and 
uniform  with  this.     Price,  $1.25. 

NOW    RBADV. 

1.  From    Canal  Boy  to    President;    or,  The 

Boyhood  and  Manhood  of  James  A.  Garfield.  By  Horatio 
Alger,  Jr. 

2.  Abraham    Lincoln,    the   Backwoods   Boy; 

or,  How  a  Young  Rail-Splitter  became  President.  Being 
the  Boyhood  and  Manhood  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  By 
Horatio  Alger,  Jr. 

READY    EARLY     IN     OCTOBER. 

3.  The  Surveyor  Boy  and  Presiilent;  or  Young 

People's  Life  of  George  Washington.  By  Win.  M.  Thayer, 
author  of  "  Log  Cabin  to  White  House,"  Etc. 

JOHN  R.   ANDERSON  &  HENRY  S.  ALLEN, 

PUBLISHERS, 
66  AND  68  READE  STREET,  NEW  YOBK. 


PREFACE. 


I  VENTURE  to  say  that  among  our  public  men 
there  is  not  one  whose  life  can  be  studied  with 
more  interest  and  profit  by  American  youth  than 
that  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  is  not  alone  that, 
born  in  an  humble  cabin,  he  reached  the  highest 
position  accessible  to  an  American,  but  especially 
because  in  every  position  which  he  was  called 
upon  to  fill,  he  did  his  duty  as  he  understood  it, 
and  freely  sacrificed  personal  ease  and  comfort  in 
the  service  of  the  humblest.  I  have  prepared  the 
story  of  Lincoln's  boyhood  and  manhood  as  a 
companion  volume  to  the  life  of  Garfield,  which 
I  published  two  years  since,  under  the  title, 
"  From  Canal  Boy  to  President."  The  cordial 
welcome  which  this  received  has  encouraged  me 
to  persevere  in  ray  plan  of  furnishing  readers, 
young  and  old,  with  readable  lives  of  the  greatest 


0  PREFACE. 

and  best  men  in  our  history.  I  can  hardly  Lope 
at  this  late  day  to  have  contributed  many  new 
facts,  or  found  mucn  new  material.  I  have  been 
able,  however,  through  the  kindness  of  friends,  to 
include  some  anecdotes  not  hitherto  published. 
But  for  the  most  part  I  have  relied  upon  the  well- 
known  and  valuable  lives  of  Lincoln  by  Dr.  Hol- 
land and  Ward  H.  Larnon.  I  also  acknowledge, 

o     s 

with  pleasure,  my  indebtedness  to  "  Six  Months 
in  the  White  House,"  by  F.  B.  Carpenter;  Henry 
J.  Raymond's  "History  of  Lincoln's  Administra- 
tion," and  the  "Life  of  Lincoln,"  by  D.  W. 
Bartlett.  I  commend,  with  confidence,  either  or 
all  of  these  works  to  those  of  my  readers  who 
may  desire  a  more  thorough  and  exhaustive  life 
of  "  The  Backwoods  Boy." 

HOKATIO  ALGEE,  JK. 
NEW  YORK,  July  4,  1883. 


CONTENTS. 


I. — THE  LOG-CABIN,            -           -  9 
II.— THE  NEW  MOTHER,       -          -  -17 
III. — ABE  AND  HIS  FAMILY,  -           -  -    26 
IV.— ABE'S  SCHOOLING,  -    34 
V. — ABE  AND  HIS  NEIGHBORS,  -    43 
VI.— A  RIVER  TRIP,  -  -    51 
VII. — LINCOLN  AS  A  CLERK,   -  -    60 
VIII. — IN  THE  BLACK  HAWK  CAMPAIGN,  -    69 
IX.— IN  THE  LEGISLATURE,    -  -    78 
X. — A  CASE  IN  COURT,  -    87 
XI. — MR.  LINCOLN  FORMS  TWO  PARTNER- 
SHIPS,                      -  -    96 
XII. — THE  LAWYER  IN  HIS  OFFICE  AND  AT 

HOME,           -                       -  -  105 
XIII. — THE    RAIL -SPLITTER    ENTERS    CON- 
GRESS, -  113 
XIV. — THE  FIRST  SPEECH  IN  CONGRESS,  -  121 
XV. — MR.  LINCOLN'S  FAMILY,  -  136 
XVI. — THE  SENATORIAL  CAMPAIGN,   -  -  147 
XVII.— THE  Two  GIANTS,    -      -           -  -  ir>o 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAQV 

XVIII. — ILLINOIS    DECLARES   FOR   THE   RAIL- 
SPLITTER,      -  -  -  164 
XIX. — NOMINATED  FOR  PRESIDENT,   -           -  173 
XX. — FAREWELL  TO  SPRINGFIELD,    -           -  183 
XXI. — A  VISIT  TO  MR.  LINCOLN,  -  191 
XXII. — THE  INAUGURATION,       -                      -  198 
XXIII.— THE  WAR  BEGINS,                                -  20? 
XXIV. — MR.  LINCOLN  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  211 
XXV. — MR.  LINCOLN  AND  THE  LITTLE  BOY — 

A  GROUP  OF  INCIDENTS,    -  -  225 

XXVI.— MR.  LINCOLN'S  HUMANITY,       -  -  237 

XXVII. — ANECDOTES  OF  MR.  LINCOLN,  -  -  246 

XXVIII. — PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  AS  A  RELIGIOUS 

MAN,  -  256 

XXIX.— EMANCIPATING  THE  SLAVES,    -  -  264 

XXX. — ELECTED  FOR  A  SECOND  TERM,          -  269 

XXXI. — THE  SPEECH  AT  GETTYSBURG,  -  273 

XXXII.— THE  CURTAIN  FALLS,    -  -  277 

XXXIII. — MR.    HERNDON'S    ESTIMATE    OF    MR. 

LINCOLN,       -  -  285 

XXXIV.— MR.  LINCOLN'S  FAVORITE  POEM,         -  299 


THE 


BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE       LOG-CABIN. 

THREE  children  stood  in  front  of  a  rough  log- 
cabin  in  a  small  clearing  won  from  the  surround- 
ing forest.  The  country  round  about  was  wild 
and  desolate.  Not  far  away  was  a  vast  expanse 
of  forest,  including  oaks,  beeches,  walnuts,  and 
the  usual  variety  of  forest  trees. 

We  are  in  Indiana,  and  the  patch  of  land  on 
which  the  humble  log-cabin  stood  is  between  the 
forks  of  Big  Pigeon  and  Little  Pigeon  Creeks,  a 
mile  and  a  half  east  of  Gentryville,  a  small  vil- 
lage not  then  in  existence. 

The  oldest  of  the  three  children  was  Nancy 

(9) 


IQ        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Lincoln,  about  twelve  years  old.  Leaning 
against  the  cabin  in  a  careless  attitude  was  a 

O 

tall,  spindling  boy,  tbin-faced,  and  preternatu- 
rally  grave,  with  a  swarthy  complexion.  He  was 
barefoot  and  ragged ;  the  legs  of  his  pantaloons, 
which  were  much  too  short,  revealing  the  lower 
part  of  his  long  legs ;  for  in  his  boyhood,  as  in 
after  days,  he  ran  chiefly  to  legs. 

"Who  in  the  wildest  flight  of  a  daring  imagina- 
tion would  venture  to  predict  that  this  awkward, 
sad-faced,  ragged  boy  would  forty  years  later  sit 
in  the  chair  of  Washington,  and  become  one  of 
the  rulers  of  the  earth  ?  I  know  of  nothing  more 
wonderful  in  the  Arabian  Nights  than  this. 

The  second  boy  was  a  cousin  of  the  other  two 
children — Dennis  Hanks,  who,  after  the  death  of 
his  parents,  had  come  to  live  in  the  Lincoln 
household. 

The  sun  was  near  its  setting.  It  seemed  al- 
ready to  bave  set,  for  it  was  hidden  by  the  forest 
trees  behind  which  it  had  disappeared. 

"  Abe,"  said  the  girl,  addressing  her  brother, 
"  do  you  think  father  will  be  home  to-night  ? " 

"  I  reckon,"  answered  Abe  laconically,  shifting 
from  one  foot  to  the  other. 


ABU  A  HA  N  L  TNCOLN.  \  \ 

"I  hope  so,"  said  Dennis.  "It's  lonesome 
stayin'  here  by  ourselves." 

"  There's  some  one  comin'  with  father,"  said 
Nancy  slowly.  "We're  goin'  to  have  a  new 
mother.  I  hope  we'll  like  her." 

"  It'll  seem  good  to  have  a  woman  in  the 
house,"  said  Dennis.  "It  seems  lonesome-like 
where  they're  all  men." 

"  I  reckon  you  mean  yourself  and  me,"  said 
Abe  smiling. 

The  boy's  grave,  thin  face  brightened  up  as  he 
said  this  in  a  humorous  tone. 

"  Then  I  ought  to  be  considered  a  woman  if 
you  two  are  goin'  to  set  up  as  men,"  said  Nancy. 
"  But  Dennis  is  right.  It'll  be  good  for  us  if 
she's  the  right  sort.  Some  step-mothers  ain't." 

"  I  reckon  you're  right,"  said  Abe  again. 

"I'm  afraid  she  won't  like  the  house,"  said 
Nancy.  "  It  ain't  as  good  as  it  might  be,  though 
it's  better  than  the  '  camp '  we  used  to  live  in." 

As  she  spoke  her  eyes  turned  toward  an  even 
more  primitive  dwelling  forty  yards  away.  It 
was  known  as  "  a  half  -faced  camp,"  and  was 
merely  a  cabin  enclosed  on  three  sides  and  open 
on  the  fourth  ;  built  not  of  logs,  but  of  poles.  It 


12  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

was  fourteen  feet  square,  and  without  a  floor. 
Here  it  was  that  the  elder  Lincoln  lived  with 
his  family  when  first  he  settled  down  in  the  In- 
diana wilderness  after  his  removal  from  Ken- 
tucky. The  present  dwelling  was  an  improve- 
ment on  the  first,  but  how  far  it  was  from  being 
comfortable  may  be  judged  from  a  description. 

It  was  indeed  a  cabin,  while  the  other  had  been 
only  a  camp,  but  it  had  neither  floor,  door,  nor 
window.  There  was  a  doorway  for  an  entrance, 
but  there  was  nothing  to  keep  out  intruders. 
There  was  small  temptation,  however,  for  the 
professional  burglar.  The  possessions  of  the 
Lincolns  were  altogether  beneath  the  notice  of 
even  the  poorest  tramp.  A  few  three-legged 
stools  served  for  chairs.  In  one  corner  of  the 
cabin  was  an  extemporized  bedstead  made  of 
poles  stuck  in  the  cracks  of  the  logs,  while  the 
other  end  rested  in  the  crotch  of  a  forked  stick 
sunk  in  the  earthen  floor.  A  bag  of  leaves  cov- 
ered with  skins  and  old  petticoats  rested  on  some 
boards  laid  over  the  poles.  Here  had  slept  the 
elder  Lincoln  and  his  wife,  while  Abe  laid  him- 
self down  in  the  loft  above.  A  hewed*  punch- 
eon supported  by  four  legs  served  for  a  table.  A 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  13 

few  dishes  of  pewter  and  tin  completed  the  list  of 
furniture. 

This  was  the  home  to  which  Thomas  Lincoln 
was  bringing  his  new  wife.  She  was  a  widow 
from  Elizabethtown  in  Kentucky,  where  he  had 
formerly  lived.  She  was  an  old  flame  of  Mr'. 
Lincoln,  but  had  rejected  him,  being  able,  as  she 
thought,  to  do  better.  But  when  within  a  few 
years  he  became  a  widower  and  she  a  widow,  the 
suit  was  renewed  and  the  answer  was  favorable. 

Even  now  the  married  pair  are  on  their  way 
home. 

Mrs.  Johnston  considered  herself  a  poor  widow, 
but  she  was  much  better  off  than  the  man  she  had 
just  married.  She  was  the  owner  of  a  bureau 
that  cost  forty  dollars ;  this  alone  being  a  value 
far  greater  than  her  new  husband's  entire  stock 
of  furniture.  Other  articles,  too,  she  had,  in- 
cluding a  table,  a  set  of  chairs,  a  large  clothes 
chest,  cooking  utensils,  knives,  forks,  bedding, 
and  other  articles. 

"  Look,  Abe ! "  said  Nancy  in  sudden  excite- 
ment, pointing  to  an  approaching  vehicle. 

Abe  followed  the  direction  of  his  sister's  finger, 
and  he  opened  his  eyes  in  astonishment.  A  large 


14:  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

four-horse  team  was  in  sight — a  strange  and  un- 
usual spectacle  in  that  wilderness.  The  children 
could  not  have  been  more  excited  if  Barnum's 
grand  procession  of  circus  chariots  had  filed  into 
view — a  vision  of  Oriental  splendor. 

"  There's  father !  "  exclaimed  Abe,  distinguish- 
ing with  a  boy's  keen  vision  the  well-known  fig- 
ure of  his  father  sitting  beside  the  driver. 

"  Father  and  Uncle  Kalph,"  corrected  Nancy. 

"  And  the  team's  full  of  furniture.  Can  it  be 
comin'  here  ? " 

"I  reckon  your  new  mother's  aboard,"  said 
Dennis. 

This  remark  made  the  children  thoughtful, 
because  it  recalled  their  own  sad-faced  and  gen- 
tle mother  who  had  faded  from  life  a  year  before 
and  gone  uncomplainingly  to  her  rest.  Then, 
besides,  the  prospect  of  a  step-mother  is  apt  to 
be  disquieting  when  nothing  is  known  of  her  dis- 
position or  character. 

"Is  all  that  furniture  comin'  here?"  solilo- 
quized Nancy  wonderingly. 

"  I  reckon  so,"  answered  Abe. 

When  the  team  came  nearer  another  exciting 
discovery  was  made.  There  were  others  aboard 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  ^5 

the  wagon  besides  tlieir  father,  their  new  mother, 
and  their  uncle  Ralph  Krame,  who  was  the  owner 
of  the  team.  There  were  two  girls  and  a  boy, 
children  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  by  her  former  marriage. 
They  were  not  far  from  the  same  age  as  the  three 
children  who  were  awaiting  their  arrival,  but  they 
were  much  better  dressed.  It  was  clear  that  the 
log-cabin  would  no  longer  be  lonely.  It  would 
be  full  and  running  over.  The  six  children  and 
their  parents  were  to  be  crowded  into  it. 

"  That  is  ray  house,  Sally,"  said  Thomas  Lin- 
coln, pointing  out  the  cabin  in  the  woods  to  his 
new  wife. 

"  That! "  she  exclaimed  in  dismay,  for  her  new 
husband  had  led  her  to  expect  that  he  was  toler- 
ably well-to-do,  not  with  any  intention  to  de- 
ceive, but  mainly  because  they  had  different 
standards  of  comfort. 

We  can  imagine  that  the  heart  of  the  new  wife 
must  have  sunk  within  her  as  from  the  wagon  she 
caught  the  first  sight  of  her  future  home.  She 
had  not  been  accustomed  to  luxury,  but  her  old 
home  was  luxurious  compared  with  this. 

She  relapsed  into  silence,  and  did  not  choose  to 
make  her  husband  uncomfortable  by  revealing 


IQ  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  true  state  of  her  feelings.  She  seems  to 
have  been  a  capable  woman,  and  probably  made 
up  her  mind  upon  the  instant  to  make  "  the  best 
of  it."  Besides,  she  had  already  caught  sight  of 
the  children. 

"  And  those  are  Nancy  and  Abe  ? "  she  said. 

"Yes,"  answered  Thomas  Lincoln.  "That's 
Abe  with  the  long  legs,  and  the  other  boy  is  his 
cousin  Dennis." 

The  new  Mrs.  Lincoln  regarded  with  womanly 
compassion  the  three  neglected  children,  and  in 
her  heart  she  resolved  to  make  their  lot  more  de- 
sirable. Perhaps  the  children  read  her  face  aright, 
for,  as  they  scanned  her  kindly  face,  all  fear  of 
the  new  step-mother  disappeared,  and  they  re- 
sponded shyly,  but  cordially,  to  her  greeting. 


CHAPTER  II. 

T  I!  E     NEW      M  O  T  II  E  K  . 

WHEN  the  new  Mrs.  Lincoln  entered  the  hum- 
ble  log-cabin  which  was  to  be  her  future  home, 
it  may  well  be  imagined  that  her  heart  sank 
within  her  at  the  primitive  accommodations,  or 
rather,  lack  of  accommodations. 

"  How  do  you  like  it  \ "  asked  Thomas  Lincoln, 
who  was  much  more  easily  satisfied  than  his  wife. 

"  Not  at  all  at  present.  There  are  no  doors  or 
windows.  There  is  not  even  a  plank  floor." 

"  We  have  got  along  without  them,"  said  her 
husband. 

"We  can't  get  along  without  them  any  longer. 
You  are  a  carpenter,  and  can  easily  provide  them. 
I  will  put  in  my  furniture,  and  after  awhile  we 
will  have  things  more  comfortable." 

"I  don't  think  wre  need  the  bureau.     You  say 

it  cost  forty  dollars.     You  had  better  sell  it.     It 
2  ft?) 


13  SO  YHG  OD  AND  MANE  0  OD  OF 

is  sinful  extravagance  to  have  so  much  money  in 
furniture." 

u  I  can't  consent  to  that,"  said  Mrs.  Lincoln  de- 
cidedly. "I  have  nothing  that  is  too  good  for  us. 
I  will  see  that  you  and  the  children  live  more 
comfortably  in  future." 

Abe  and  Nancy  looked  on  with  interest  while 
the  bureau  and  the  other  possessions  of  their  now 
mother  were  taken  from  the  wagon  by  their  fa- 
ther and  their  uncle  Ralph.  They  began  to  think 
they  were  going  to  live  in  city  style.  In  particu- 
lar they  admired  the  bureau  which  had  cost  forty 
dollars.  Why,  their  cabin  had  not  cost  that. 
They  felt  something  like  the  country  minister  of 
sixty  years  since,  to  whom  his  parishioners  pre- 
sented a  carpet  for  the  "  fore  room."  When  it 
was  spread  on  the  floor,  he  gazed  at  it  admiringly 
and  ejaculated,  "  What,  all  this  and  heaven  too ! 
This  is  too  much  !  " 

Mrs.  Lincoln  was  quite  in  earnest,  and  set  her 
husband  to  work  the  next  day  at  the  improve- 
ments she  had  specified.  When  after  a  time 
they  were  completed ;  when  the  earthen  floor  was 
succeeded  by  one  of  boards ;  when  two  windows 
had  been  set  in  the  sides  of  the  cabin,  and  a  door 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  J9 

closed  up  the  entrance ;  when  the  primitive  bed 
and  bedstead  had  been  superseded  by  the  new- 
comer's comfortable  bedstead  and  bedding,  and 
the  three-legged  stools  had  been  removed  to  give 
place  to  chairs,  the  three  children  were  very 
happy. 

And  indeed  it  was  a  happy  day  for  Thomas 
Lincoln  and  his  young  family  when  his  second 
wife  took  charge  of  his  household.  She  was 
kind-hearted  and  energetic,  and,  though  she  had 
three  children  of  her  own,  she  was  never  found 
wanting  in  care  or  affection  for  her  husband's 
children.  She  took  a  special  interest  in  young 
Abe.  She  read  him  better  than  his  father,  and 
saw  that  there  was  that  in  him  which  it  would 
pay  to  develop. 

To  begin  with,  she  rigged  him  out  in  new 
clothes.  His  ragged  condition  had  excited  her 
sympathy,  and  she  rightly  judged  that  neat  attire 
helps  a  boy's  or  girl's  self-respect.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  Abe,  though  he  never  had  a  weakness 
for  line  clothes,  surveyed  himself  complacently 
when  for  the  first  time  he  saw  himself  respecta- 
bly dressed. 

This  is  the  description  v\f  Abe's  step-mother 


20  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

given  many  years  after  by  Mrs.  Chapman,  the 
daughter  of  Dennis  Hanks: 

"  His  wife,  my  grandmother,  is  a  very  tall 
woman,  straight  as  an  Indian ;  fair  complexion, 
and  was,  when  I  first  remember  her,  very  hand- 
some, sprightly,  talkative,  and  proud ;  wore  her 
hair  curled  till  gray;  is  kind-hearted  and  very 
charitable,  and  also  very  industrious." 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  this  good  lady 
lived  long  enough  to  see  the  neglected  boy  whom 
she  so  kindly  took  in  hand  elected  to  the  highest 
place  in  the  gift  of  his  countrymen. 

It  was  not  long  before  Mrs.  Lincoln  began  to 
broach  her  plans  for  the  benefit  of  her  step-son. 

"  Abe,"  she  said  one  day,  "  have  you  ever  been 
to  school  ? " 

"Yes,  ma'am.  I  went  to  school  a  little  while 
in  Kentucky." 

"  You  didn't  learn  much,  I  suppose  ? " 

"  JSTot  much  ;  I  can  read  and  write  a  little." 

"  That's  a  good  beginning.  In  this  country, 
Abe,  you  will  never  amount  to  much  unless  you 
get  an  education.  Would  you  like  to  go  to 
school  •? " 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  boy  earnestly. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  %\ 

"  I  will  speak  to  your  father  about  it.  Is  there 
any  school  near  here?" 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Dorsey  keeps  school  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  here,  near  the  Little  Pigeon 
Creek  meeting-house." 

"  You  and  Nancy  and  Dennis  mast  go  there." 

Mrs.  Lincoln  broached  the  subject  to  her  hus- 
band. 

"  Abe  ought  to  go  to  school,  Thomas,"  she  said, 
"and  so  ought  the  other  children." 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  can  spare  him,"  said  his  fa- 
ther. "  I  need  his  help  in  the  shop  and  on  the 
farm." 

"  He  can  find  time  out  of  school-hours.  The 
boy  must  have  an  education." 

"  I  agree  to  that,  wife.    It  shall  be  as  you  say." 

In  Mr.  Dorsey's  school  Abe's  studies  were  ele- 
mentary. His  time  was  given  to  reading,  writ- 
ing, and  ciphering.  The  school-house  was  about 
as  primitive  as  the  Lincoln  cabin  before  the  im- 
provements were  made  on  it.  It  was  built  of  un- 
hewn logs,  and  holes  stuffed  with  greased  paper 
supplied  the  place  of  windows.  It  was  low- 
studded,  being  barely  six  feet  high.  The  schol- 
ars studied  in  classes,  and  Abe's  ambition  was  ex- 


22        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

cited,  so  that  lie  soon  came  to  be  looked  upon  as 
one  of  the  foremost  scholars. 

A  year  or  two  later,  in  the  same  humble  school- 
house,  a  new  teacher  named  Andrew  Crawford 
wielded  the  ferule.  He  was,  it  may  be  inferred, 
a  better  scholar  than  Mr.  Dorsey,  and  was  able  to 
carry  his  pupils  further. 

Abe  was  now  in  his  fifteenth  year,  and  was 
growing  at  an  alarming  rate.  He  was  already 
nearly  six  feet  in  height,  and  must  have  pre- 
sented a  singular  appearance  in  the  rustic  garb  in 
which  he  presented  himself  at  this  temple  of  learn- 
ing. I  quote  Mr.  Lamon's  description  of  his  phys- 
ical appearance  and  dress : 

"  He  was  growing  at  a  tremendous  rate,  and 
two  years  later  attained  his  full  height  of  six  feet 
four  inches.  He  was  long,  wiry,  and  strong; 
while  his  big  feet  and  hands  and  the  length  of 
his  legs  and  arms  were  out  of  all  proportion  to 
his  small  trunk  and  head.  His  complexion  was 
very  swarthy,  and  Mrs.  Gentry  says  that  his  skin 
was  shrivelled  and  yellow  even  then.  He  wore 
low  shoes,  buckskin  breeches,  linsey-wolsey  shirt, 
and  a  cap  made  of  the  skin  of  an  opossum  or  a 
coon.  The  breeches  clung  close  to  his  thighs  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  23 

legs,  but  failed  by  a  large  space  to  meet  the  tops 
of  his  shoes.  Twelve  inches  remained  uncovered 
and  exposed  that  much  of  '  shin-bone — sharp,  blue, 
and  narrow.'  '  He  would  always  come  to  school 
thus,  good-humoredly  and  laughing,'  says  his  old 
friend,  Nat  Grigsby.  '  He  was  always  in  good 
health,  never  was  sick,  had  an  excellent  constitu- 
tion, and  took  care  of  it.'  " 

It  impresses  us  rather  curiously  to  learn  that 
the  new  teacher  Crawford  undertook  to  teach 
"  manners "  to  the  rough  brood  that  was  under 
his  charge.  It  was  certainly  a  desirable  accom- 
plishment, but  the  teaching  must  have  been  at- 
tended with  some  difficulties. 

For  the  amusement  of  my  young  readers  I  will 
try  to  describe  one  of  these  lessons.  Mr.  Craw- 
ford wished  the  boys  to  learn  how  to  enter  a 
room  and  pay  their  respects  to  the  assembled 
company. 

"  Abe,  it  is  your  turn,"  he  says. 

Abe  Lincoln,  understanding  what  is  meant, 
rose  from  his  seat,  and  retires  from  the  room. 
A  moment  later  a  knock  is  heard  at  the  door. 
A  scholar,  specially  deputed  to  do  so — we  will 


24  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

suppose  Nat  Grigsby — advances  to  the  door  and 
opens  it. 

Before  him  stands  Abe — tall,  awkward,  with 
the  lower  part  of  his  limbs  exposed. 

Nat  bows,  and,  taking  him  by  the  arm,  leads  .' 
him  from  bench  to  bench,  presenting  him  to  his 
fellow-pupils,  as  though  he  were  a  guest  going 
the  rounds  in  a  drawing-roorn.  Abe,  who  was 
never  without  a  sense  of  fun,  no  doubt  stole  tim- 
orous glances  askance  at  his  rustic  garb  as  he 
strode  here  and  there,  bowing  politely  to  the 
boys  and  girls  whom  he  knew  so  well.  Yet  it  is 
possible  that  this  exercise  may  have  made  it  less 
awkward  for  him  in  later  days  to  attend  to  his 
social  duties  when  events  brought  him  promi- 
nently before  the  country. 

So  far  from  laughing  at  Master  Crawford's  in- 
struction in  manners,  I  am  disposed  to  think  very 
favorably  of  it.  He  must  on  the  whole  have  been 
a  sensible  man,  and  no  doubt  had  a  considerable 
influence  over  the  rough  boys  who  submitted  wil- 
lingly to  what  possibly  struck  them  as  ludicrous. 

I  doubt,  however,  with  all  his  pains,  whether 
he  succeeded  in  making  Abe  Lincoln  graceful  or 


ABB  AH  AM  LINCOLN.  25 

courtly.  On  the  whole,  he  was  rather  unpromis- 
ing material ;  being  long,  lank,  and  awkward. 
Yet  this  tall,  gawky  boy  was  laying  the  founda- 
tion of  a  noble  manhood.  He  was  making  the 
most  of  his  slender  advantages,  not  dreaming 
what  greatness  the  Future  had  in  store  for  him. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ABE    AND    HIS     FAMILY. 

MY  young  readers  may  naturally  feel  some  cu. 
riosity  as  to  the  Lincoln  family  and  their  previous 
history. 

The  grandfather  of  Abraham  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  Kentucky.  About  the  year 
1780  he  removed  from  Rockingham  County,  Yir- 
ginia,  to  what  was  then  an  unsettled  wilderness. 
His  death  was  tragical.  Four  years  later,  while 
at  work  in  the  field,  at  some  distance  from  his 
cabin,  he  was  shot  down  by  a  prowling  Indian. 
How  his  widow  managed,  with  the  care  of  five 
helpless  children,  we  do  not  accurately  know,  but 
God  helps  the  struggling,  and  she  reared  them 
all  till  they  reached  man's  and  woman's  estate. 
Thomas  Lincoln,  born  in  1778,  was  the  third  child, 
and  the  future  President  was  his  son.  He  was  a 

4 

good-natured,  popular  man,  but  inefficient  and  un- 
(26) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  27 

successful,  and  whatever  there  was  great  in  his 
eminent  son  did  not  come  from  him. 

Nancy  Hanks,  Abe's  own  mother,  was  born  in 
Virginia,  and  was  probably  related  to  some  fam- 
ily emigrating  from  that  State.  Dr.  Holland  says 
of  her :  "  Mrs.  Lincoln,  the  mother,  was  evident- 
ly a  woman  out  of  place  among  these  primitive 
surroundings.  She  was  five  feet  live  inches  high, 
a  slender,  pale,  sad,  and  sensitive  woman,  with 
much  in  her  nature  that  was  truly  heroic,  and 
much  that  shrank  from  the  rude  life  around  her. 
A  great  man  never  drew  his  infant  life  from  a 

O 

purer  or  more  womanly  bosom  than  her  own." 
Though  she  died  young,  she  had  taught  her  chil- 
dren to  read,  and  so  laid  the  foundation  of  their 
education. 

When  Thomas  Lincoln  had  made  up  his  mind 
to  move  from  Kentucky,  he  sold  his  humble  home, 
or  rather  bartered  it  for  ten  barrels  of  whisky 
and  twenty  dollars  in  money.  It  must  not  be  in- 
ferred that  he  was  an  intemperate  man — this 
would  not  be  true — but  money  was  scarce  in  those 
days,  and  it  was  common  to  bailer,  taking  pay  in 
commodities  which  were  marketable.  This  was 
before  the  days  of  temperance  societies;  whisky 


28  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

was  generally  drunk,  even  by  ministers,  and  there 
was  little  risk  in  accepting  it. - 

So  Thomas  Lincoln,  leaving  home  by  himself 
to  find  a  new  residence  for  his  family,  built  a 
flat-boat,  and  launched  it  on  the  Rolling  Fork,  a 
creek  emptying  into  the  Ohio  River.  He  reached 
the  river  in  safet}7,  but  then  came  a  disaster.  His 
flat-boat  was  upset,  and  two-thirds  of  his  whisky, 
and  many  of  his  housekeeping  and  farm  utensils 
were  lost.  He  did  the  best  he  could,  however. 
With  friendly  assistance  he  saved  all  Ee  was  able, 
and  proceeding  on  his  journey,  carried  his 
goods  about  eighteen  miles  into  Spencer  County, 
Indiana,  the  place  where  we  find  him  at  the  com- 
mencement of  our  narrative.  He  returned  to 
Kentucky  for  his  family,  and  brought  them  with 
him  to  the  new  home  in  the  wilderness.  Seven 
days,  we  are  told,  were  consumed  on  the  journey, 
though  the  distance  could  not  have  been  very 
grcat»  We  can  easily  imagine  what  privations 
and  weariness  of  body  this  journey  involved. 
People  of  to-day  don't  know  what  "  moving"  is. 
They  should  have  lived  in  the  year  1S16,  and 
made  a  toilsome  seven  days'  march  through  the 
wilderness  to  understand  what  it  meant  then. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  29 

Nor  were  their  trials  and  privations  over  •when 
the  moving  was  accomplished.  I  am  tempted  to 
quote  here  from  Mr.  Ward  H.  Lamon's  interest- 
ing Life  of  Lincoln,  an  account  of  life  in  the  new 
Indiana  home,  contained  in  a  letter  from  Mr. 
David  Turnham,  a  school-fellow  of  Abe: 

"  When  my  father  came  here  in  the  spring  of 
1819,  he  settled  in  Spencer  County,  within  one 
mile  of  Thomas  Lincoln,  then  a  widower.  The 
chance  for  schooling  was  poor;  but,  such  as  it 
was,  Abraham  and  myself  attended  the  same 
schools. 

"  We  first  had  to  go  seven  miles  to  mill ;  and 
then  it  was  a  hand-mill  that  would  grind  from 
ten  to  fifteen  bushels  of  corn  in  a  day.  There 
was  but  little  wheat  grown  at  that  time;  and 
when  we  did  have  wheat,  we  had  to  grind  it  on 
the  mill  described,  and  use  it  without  bolting,  as 
there  were  no  bolts  in  the  country.  In  the  course 
of  two  or  three  years,  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Huffman  built  a  mill  on  Anderson  River,  about 
twelve  miles  distant.  Abe  and  1  had  to  do  the 
milling  on  horseback,  frequently  going  twice  to 
get  one  grist.  Then  they  began  building  horse- 
mills  of  a  little  better  quality  than  the  hand-mills. 


30        BOYHOOD  AND  MAHHOOJ)  OF 

"  The  country  was  very  rough,  especially  in  the 
low  lands,  so  thick  with  brush  that  a  man  could 
scarcely  get  through  on  foot.  These  places  were 
called  Roughs.  The  country  abounded  in  game, 
such  as  bears,  deer,  turkeys,  and  the  smaller  game. 

"  At  that  time  there  were  a  great  many  deer- 
licks;  and  Abe  and  myself  would  go  to  these 
licks  sometimes,  and  watch  of  nights  to  kill  deer, 
though  Abe  was  not  so  fond  of  a  gun  as  I  was. 
There  were  ten  or  twelve  of  these  licks  in  a  small 
prairie  on  the  creek,  lying  between  Mr.  Lincoln's 
and  Mr.  Wood's.  This  gave  it  the  name  of  Prairie 
Track  of  Pigeon  Creek." 

I  have  already  said  that  Thomas  Lincoln  was  a 
carpenter.  He  did  not,  however,  understand  his 
trade  very  well,  and,  though  he  was  employed  in 
small  jobs,  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  was  ever 
employed  to  bnild  a  house,  or  was  considered  com- 
petent to  do  so.  In  fact,  he  derived  but  a  small 
income  from  his  trade,  and  probably  looked  upon 
himself  rather  as  a  farmer  than  a  mechanic.  It 
was  a  piece  of  good  fortune  for  himself  and  his 
children,  that,  shiftless  and  unambitious  as  he  was, 
he  should  have  won  a  wife  so  much  more  capable 
and  energetic  than  himsoif .  He  was  much  shorter 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  31 

than  his  son  Abe,  beiug  an  inch  or  two  under  six 
feet.  In  some  respects  they  were  alike,  however, 
for  Thomas  Lincoln  had  a  gift  for  telling  stories, 
and  would  sit  about  at  "  stores,"  or  under  trees, 
and  amuse  his  neighbors  with  an  inexhaustible 
fund  of  anecdotes.  Of  education  he  had  little  or 
none.  He  could  write  his  name,  having  learned 
this  much  from  his  first  wife,  Abe's  mother,  but 
he  never  had  the  ambition  or  perseverance  to  go 
farther  up  the  hill  of  learning.  We  are  told, 
however,  that  he  was  in  favor  of  his  children's 
obtaining  an  education,  though  it  was  probably 
the  mother  and  step-mother  to  whom  Abe  and 
his  sister  were  especially  indebted  for  such  advan- 
tages as  they  enjoyed.  I  may  say,  however,  that 
the  most  valuable  part  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  edu- 
cation was  not  derived  from  books.  He  was  a 
close  and  keen  observer  of  men  and  things,  and 
few  men  excelled  him  in  insight  into  human  nat- 
ure, and  the  motives,  the  weaknesses,  and  the 
subterfuges  of  men.  Yet  with  all  this  knowledge 
of  the  bad  as  well  as  ths  good  that  was  in  men, 
he  was  always  a  kindly  and  sympathetic  judge  and 
critic. 

I  suppose  all  boys  at  some  time  or  other  in  their 


32        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

early  years  have  a  narrow  escape.  My  young 
readers  may  be  interested  to  know  how  near  we 
came  to  losing  our  future  President.  It  was  when 
Abe  was  seven  years  old,  and  before  he  removed 
to  Indiana. 

He  was  accustomed  to  go  on  numerous  tramps 
with  his  cousin,  Dennis  Hanks,  who  sought  to 
initiate  him  into  the  mysteries  of  fishing.  On 
on  3  occasion  he  attempted  to  "  coon  "  across  Knot 
Creek,  by  swinging  over  on  a  sycamore  tree.  But 
he  lost  his  hold  and  tumbled  into  the  deep  water. 
He  would  have  drowned  but  for  the  exertions  of 
his  boy  companion,  who  had  great  difficulty  in 
saving  him.  The  readers  of  Garfield's  Life  will 
remember  ho\v  he  also  came  near  death  by  drown- 
ing, when  considerably  older  than  Abe  was  at  this 
juncture.  But  God  looks  after  the  lives  of  His 
chosen  instruments,  and  saves  them  for  His  work. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Abe  found  plenty  to  do 
outside  of  school.  In  fact,  that  did  not  take  up 
much  of  his  time,  for  we  are  told  that,  adding  to- 
gether all  the  time  he  spent  in  attendance,  the  ag- 
gregate wTould  not  exceed  a  year. 

As  to  the  sort  of  work  he  did,  his  father  found 
work  for  him  on  the  land  which  he  had  under 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  33 

cultivation.  Then  the  "  chores "  which  boys  in 
such  households  are  always  called  upon  to  do, 
in  his  case  exacted  more  time  on  account  of 
the  lack  of  average  accommodations.  For  in- 
stance, the  water  had  to  be  brought  from  a  spring 
a  mile  away,  and  Abe  and  his  sister  were  em- 
ployed to  fetch  it.  There  was  no  water  to  be  had 
nearer,  except  what  was  collected  in  holes  in  the 
ground  after  a  rain,  and  this  was  necessarily  unfit 
for  drinking,  or,  indeed,  any  other  purpose  unless 
strained.  But  Abe  is  not  to  be  pitied  for  the 
'  hardships  of  his  lot.  That  is  the  way  strong  men  - 
are  made. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ABE'S    SCHOOLING. 

"  SPELL  defied  !  " 

This  question  was  put  to  a  class  in  spelling  by 
the  master. 

The  iirst  pupil  in  the  straggling  line  of  back- 
woods boys  and  girls  who  stood  up  in  class,  an- 
swered with  some  hesitation  :  "  D-e-f-i-d-e,  defied." 

The  master  frowned. 

"  Next !  "  he  called  sharply. 

The  next  improved  upon  the  effort  of  the  first 
speller,  and  in  a  confident  tone  answered  : 

"  D-e-f-y-d-e." 

"  Wrong  again !  The  next  may  try  it,"  said  the 
teacher. 

"  D-e-f-y-d ! "  said  the  third  scholar. 

"Worse  and  worse!  You  are  entitled  to  a 
medal !  "  said  Crawford,  sarcastically.  "  Next !  " 

"D-e-f-y-e-d  ! "  was  the  next  attempt. 
(34) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  35 

"Really,  you  do  me  great  credit,"  said  the 
teacher,  a  frown  gathering  on  his  brow.  "You 
can't  spell  an  easy  word  of  two  syllables.  It  is 
shameful.  I'll  keep  the  whole  class  in  all  the 
rest  of  the  day,  if  necessary,  till  the  word  is 
spelled  correctly." 

It  now  became  the  turn  of  a  young  girl  named 
Roby,  who  was  a  favorite  with  Abe.  She  was  a 
pretty  girl,  but,  nevertheless,  the  terrible  word 
puzzled  her.  In  her  perplexity  she  chanced  to 
turn  toward  the  seat  at  the  window  occupied  by 
her  long-legged  friend,  Abe. 

Abe  was  perhaps  the  best  speller  in  school.  A 
word  like  defied  was  easy  enough  to  him,  and  he 
wanted  to  help  the  girl  through. 

As  Miss  Roby  looked  at  him  she  saw  a  smile 
upon  his  face,  as  he  significantly  touched  his  eye 
with  his  finger.  The  girl  took  the  hint,  and 
spelled  the  word  correctly. 

"  Right  at  last !  "  said  Master  Crawford,  whose 
back  was  turned,  and  who  had  not  seen  Abe's 
dumb  show.  "  It's  lucky  for  you  all  that  one  of 
the  class  knew  how  to  spell,  or  I  would  have  kept 
my  word,  and  kept  you  all  in." 

Though  Master  Crawford's  school  had  a  de- 


36        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

partment  of  manners,  there  was  no  department 
of  English  composition.  Abe  took  this  np  on 
his  own  account,  according  to  his  schoolmate, 
Nat  Grigsby,  and  probably  the  teacher  consented 
to  examine  his  essays,  though  he  did  not  require 
them  of  his  other  pupils.  Considering  the  kind- 
ness of  heart  which  he  afterward  exhibited  on  many 
occasions,  my  readers  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear 
that  his  first  composition  was  against  cruelty  to 
animals.  This  is  said  to  have  been  called  forth 
by  the  conduct  of  some  of  his  fellow-pupils  in 
catching  terrapins  and  putting  coals  of  fire  on 
their  backs. 

After  a  time  Master  Crawford's  school  was  dis- 
continued, and  some  two  or  three  years  later  Abe 
attended  another,  kept  by  a  Mr.  Swaney.  It  gives 
us  an  idea  of  the  boy's  earnest  desire  to  obtain  an 
education,  when  we  learn  that  he  had  to  walk 
four  and  a  half  miles  to  it  from  his  fathers  house, 
and  this  walk  had  to  be  repeated,  of  course,  in 
the  afternoon.  How  many  of  my  young  readers 
would  care  sufficiently  for  an  education  to  walk 
nine  miles  a  day,  to  and  from  school  ? 

We  are  told  that  the  new  school-house  was  no 
more  impressive,  architecturally,  than  the  first,  al- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  37 

ready  described.  In  fact,  it  was  very  similar, 
though  it  had  two  chimneys  instead  of  one.  The 
course  of  instruction  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
any  higher  than  at  Mr.  Crawford's  school.  The 
department  of  "manners"  was  omitted,  though 
it  is  doubtful  whether  many  of  the  pupils  could 
have  appeared  to  advantage  in  a  city  ball-room. 

Probably  Abe  did  not  attend  Mr.  Swaney's 
school  many  weeks,  and  this,  we  are  told,  was  the 
end  of  his  school  attendance  anywhere.  He  had, 
however,  in  that  short  time  imbibed  a  love  of 
learning,  which  is  to  be  credited  rather  to  his 
own  tastes  than  to'  the  influence  of  his  teachers, 
and  carried  on  by  himself  the  studies  of  which 
he  had  learned  something  in  the  humble  back- 
woods school.  We  are  told  that  he  was, already 
the  equal  of  his  teachers  in  learning,  which  prob- 
ably was  not  saying  much.  Nevertheless  he  did 
not  regard  his  education  as  finished.  He  had  his 
books,  and  kept  on  studying  at  home,  or  wherever 
he  was  employed.  In  the  hard  work  which  fell 
to  his  lot  he  did  not  take  much  interest.  He  knew 
that  it  was  necessary,  but  he  did  not  enjoy  it. 
He  preferred  to  labor  with  his  brain  rather  than 
with  his  hands,  and  often  seemed  so  listless  and 


38  BOYHOOD  AND  IfAXIlOOD  OF 

preoccupied  that  lie  got  the  reputation  of  being 
"  awful  lazy." 

This  is  what  his  neighbor,  Romine,  says  of  him  : 
"  He  worked  for  me ;  was  always  reading  and 
thinking ;  used  to  get  mad  at  him.  I  say,  Abe 
was  awful  lazy ;  he  would  laugh,  and  talk,  and 
crack  jokes  and  tell  stories  all  the  time;  didn't 
love  work,  but  did  dearly  lore  his  pay.  He  worked 

for  me  frequently,  a  few  days  only  at  a  time 

Lincoln  said  to  me  one  day,  that  his  father  taught 
him  to  work,  but  never  learned  him  to  love  it." 

All  the  information  we  can  obtain  about  this 
early  time  is  interesting,  for  it  was  then  that  Abe 
was  laying  the  foundation  of  his  future  eminence. 
His  mind  and  character  were  slowly  developing, 
and  shaping  themselves  for  the  future. 

From  Mr.  Lamon's  Life  I  quote  a  paragraph 
which  will  throw  light  upon  his  habits  and  tastes 
at  the  age  of  seventeen : 

"  Abe  loved  to  lie  under  a  shade-tree,  or  up  in 
the  loft  of  the  cabin,  and  read,  cipher,  and  scrib- 
ble. At  night  he  sat  by  the  chimney  'jamb,'  and 
ciphered  by  the  light  of  the  tire,  on  the  wooden 
fire-shovel.  When  the  shovel  was  fairly  covered, 
he  would  shave  it  off  with  Tom  Lincoln's  draw- 


ABRAHAM  LIA  COLN.  39 

ing-knife,  and  begin  again.  In  the  day-time  be 
used  boards  for  the  same  purpose,  out  of  doors, 
and  went  through  the  shaving  process  everlasting- 
ly. His  step-mother  repeats  often  that  '  he  read 
every  book  he  could  lay  his  hands  on.'  She  says, 
'  Abe  read  diligently.  He  read  every  book  he 
could  lay  his  hands  on,  and  when  he  came  across 
a  passage  that  struck  him,  he  would  write  it  down 
on  boards  if  he  had  no  paper,  and  keep  it  there 
until  he  did  get  paper.  Then  he  would  rewrite 
it,  look  at  it,  repeat  it.  He  had  a  copy-book,  a 
kind  of  scrap-book,  in  which  he  put  down  all 
tilings,  and  thus  preserved  them.'  " 

I  am  tempted  also  to  quote  a  reminiscence  of 
John  Hanks,  who  lived  with  the  Lincolns  from 
the  time  Abe  was  fourteen  to  the  time  he  became 
eighteen  years  of  age :  "  When  Lincoln — Abe — 
and  I  returned  to  the  house  from  work,  he  would 
go  to  the  cupboard,  snatch  a  piece  of  corn-bread, 
take  down  a  book,  sit  down  on  a  chair,  cock  his 
legs  up  as  high  as  his  head,  and  read.  He  and  I 
worked  barefooted,  grubbed  it,  ploughed,  mowed, 
and  cradled  together ;  ploughed  corn,  gathered  it, 
and  shucked  corn.  Abraham  read  constantly 
when  he  had  opportunity." 


40        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

It  may  well  be  supposed,  however,  that  the 
books  upon  which  Abe  could  lay  hands  were  few 
in  number.  There  were  no  libraries,  either  pub- 
lic or  private,  in  the  neighborhood,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  read  what  he  could  get  rather  than 
those  which  he  would  have  chosen,  had  he  been 
able  to  select  from  a  large  collection.  Still,  it  is 
a  matter  of  interest  to  know  what  books  he  actu- 
ally did  read  at  this  formative  period.  Some  of 
them  certainly  were  worth  reading,  such  as 
"^Esop's  Tables,"  "Robinson  Crusoe,"  "Pil- 
grim's Progress,"  a  History  of  the  United  State?, 
and  Weem's  "Life  of  Washington."  The  last 
book  Abe  borrowed  from  a  neighbor,  old  Josiah 
Crawford,  (I  follow  the  statement  of  Mr.  Lamon, 
rather  than  of  Dr.  Holland,  who  says  it  was  Mas- 
ter Crawford,  his  teacher).  When  not  reading  it, 
he  laid  it  away  in  a  part  of  the  cabin  where  he 
thought  it  would  be  free  from  harm,  but  it  so 
happened  that  just  behind  the  shelf  on  which  he 
placed  it  was  a  great  crack  between  the  logs  of 
the  wall.  One  night  a  storm  came  up  suddenly, 
the  rain  beat  in  through  the  crevice,  and  soaked 
the  borrowed  book  through  and  through.  The 
book  was  almost  utterly  spoiled.  Abe  felt  very 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  41 

uneasy,  for  a  book  was  valuable  in  his  eyes,  aa 
well  as  in  the  eyes  of  its  owner. 

He  took  the  damaged  volume  and  trudged  over 
to  Mr.  Crawford's  in  some  perplexity  and  morti- 
fication. 

"  Well,  Abe,  what  brings  you  over  so  early  ? " 
said  Mr.  Crawford. 

"  I've  got  some  bad  news  for  you,"  answered 
Abe,  with  lengthened  face. 

u  Bad  news !     What  is  it  ?  " 

"  You  know  the  book  you  lent  me — the  '  Life 
of  Washington '  ? " 

o 

"  Yes,  yes." 

"  Well,  the  rain  last  night  spoiled  it,"  and  Abe 
showed  the  book,  wet  to  a  pulp  inside,  at  the 
same  time  explaining  how  it  had  been  injured. 

"  It's  too  bad,  I  vum  !  You'd  ought  to  pay  tor 
it,  Abe.  You  must  have  been  dreadful  careless  \ ri 

"  I'd  pay  for  it  if  I  had  any  money,  Mr.  Craw- 
ford." 

"  If  you've  got  no  money,  you  can  work  it 
out,"  said  Crawford. 

"  I'll  do  whatever  you  think  right." 

So  it  was  arranged  that  Abe  should  work  three 
days  for  Crawford,  "  pulling  fodder,"  the  valuer 


42  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  his  labor  being  rated  at  twenty-five  cents  a 
day.  As  the  book  had  cost  seventy-five  cents 
this  would  be  regarded  as  satisfactory.  So  Abe 
worked  his  three  days,  and  discharged  the  debt. 
Mr.  Lamon  is  disposed  to  find  fault  with  Crawford 
for  exacting  this  penalty,  but  it  appears  to  me 
only  equitable,  and  I  am  glad  to  think  that  Abe 
was  willing  to  act  honorably  in  the  matter. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

ABE   AND   HIS   NEIGHBOK8. 

IF  Abe's  knowledge  had  increased  in  proportion 
to  the  increase  in  his  stature,  he*  would  have  been 
unusually  learned  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  for  he 
stood  at  that  time  nearly  six  feet  four  inches  in  his 
stockings,  and,  boy  as  he  was,  was  taller  than  any 
man  in  the  vicinity. 

I  must  not  omit  to  state  that  he  had  a  remark- 
able memory,  and  this  was  of  great  service  to  him 
in  his  early  efforts  at  oratory.  Mr.  Lamon  tells 
us  that 

"  He  frequently  amused  his  young  companions 
by  repeating  to  them  long  passages  from  the 
books  he  had  been  reading.  On  Monday  morn- 
ings he  would  mount  a  stump  and  deliver,  with 
a  wonderful  approach  to  exactness,  the  sermon  he 
had  heard  the  day  before.  His  taste  for  public 

speaking  appeared  to  be  natural  and  irresistible." 

(43) 


44  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Let  me  describe  one  of  the  scenes  in  which 
Abe  often  took  part. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  have  gone  to  church,  for 
it  is  Sunday  morning.  The  children  are  excused 
on  account  of  the  distance,  and  are  left  at  home 
to  fill  up  the  time  as  they  may. 

"  Come  in,"  said  Abe,  appearing  at  the  door  of 
the  cabin,  "  I'm  going  to  preach." 

With  more  willingness,  perhaps,  than  if  the 
services  were  to  be  conducted  by  a  grown-up 
minister,  the  other  young  people  in  the  family 
enter  and  sit  down  in  decorous  style,  while  Abe 
pulls  down  the  Bible,  reads  a  passage,  and  gives 
out  a  hymn.  This  is  sung  with  more  earnestness 
than  musical  taste,  and  then  the  young  preacher 
begins  his  sermon. 

I  am  sure  we  should  all  like  to  have  been  pres- 
ent, and  should  have  listened  with  interest  while 
the  gaunt,  awkward  boy,  gesticulating  with  his 
long  arms,  delivered  a  homily  not  original  with 
himself,  but  no  doubt  marked  by  some  of  his  pe- 
culiarities. 

We  are  told  that  this  young  audience,  the  girls 
probably,  were  sometimes  affected  to  tears.  One 
might  have  been  tempted  to  predict  that  the  boy 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  45 

would  develop  into  a  preacher  when  he  grew  to 
man's  estate.  But  Abe  did  not  confine  himself 
to  "  preaching."  He  was  just  as  fond  of  other 
kinds  of  public  speaking.  Sometimes  in  the  har- 
vest field  he  mounted  a  stump  and  began  to  talk 
on  political  subjects. 

More  than  once  Thomas  Lincoln,  going  out  to 
the  field,  found  work  at  a  standstill,  and  a  little 
group  collected  at  one  point,  Abe  being  the  cen- 
tral figure. 

"  What's  all  this  ? "  he  would  ask  angrily. 

"It's  Abe,"  one  of  the  hands  would  answer. 
"He's  givin'  us  a  ronsin'  speech  on  politics." 

"I'll  rouse  him!"  oaid  the  incensed  father. 
"  Only  let  me  get  at  him  !  " 

So  he  would  push  his  way  into  the  crowd  un- 
seen by  Abe,  and  would  suddenly  seize  his  son 
by  the  collar  and  drag  him  from  his  extemporized 
rostrum. 

"  Now  go  to  work  !  "  he  would  exclaim  in  ir- 
ritation. "You  can't  make  your  living  by  talk- 
ing." 

Abe,  with  a  comical  smile,  would  close  his 
'speech,  to  resume  it  on  some  more  auspicious 
occasion. 


46        BOYHOOD  AXD  MANHOOD  OF 

1  have  already  said  that  Thomas  Lincoln  was  a 
carpenter,  though  a  poor  one.  Abe  sometimes 
worked  with  him  in  the  shop,  but  had  no  idea  of 
learning  the  trade.  He  preferred  to  work  in  the 
field,  and,  as  he  could  not  fill  up  his  time  on  the 
four  acres  his  father  cultivated,  he  hired  out  to 
any  one  of  the  neighbors  who  required  his 
services. 

No  prediction  could  have  surprised  his  em- 
ployers  more  than  that  the  tall,  awkward  youth, 
who  had  grown  out  of  his  clothes,  would  hereaf- 
ter hold  in  his  hands  the  destinies  of  the  country, 
and  guide  it  triumphantly  to  the  end  of  a  pro- 
tracted and  bloody  struggle. 

The  career  of  Lincoln  is  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  often-repeated  saying  that  "  Truth  is 
stranger  than  fiction." 

While  there  is  room  for  suspicion  that  Abe  was 
not  fond  of  physical  labor,  he  is  said  to  have 
worked  very  satisfactorily  for  those  who  em- 
ployed him.  He  had  no  troublesome  pride,  but 
•  was  willing  to  do  anything  that  was  asked,  and 
pleased  the  women  especially  by  never  objecting 
when  called  upon  "  to  make  a  fire,  carry  water. 
or  nurse  a  baby." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  47 

I  am  tempted  to  quote  from  Mr.  Lamon's  in- 
teresting volume  an  account  furnished  him  by 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Crawford  of  the  people  among 
whom  Abe  lived  and  some  of  their  peculiarities. 
It  throws  light  upon  the  homely  side  of  the  fut- 
ure President's  character  and  speech  : 

"  You  wish  me  to  tell  you  how  the  people  used 
to  go  to  meeting — hosv  far  they  went.  At  that 
time  we  thought  it  nothing  to  go  eight  or  ten  miles. 
The  old  ladies  did  not  stop  for  the  want  of  a 
shawl,  or  cloak,  or  riding-dress,  or  two  horses  in 
the  winter-time ;  but  they  would  put  on  their 
husbands'  old  overcoats,  and  wrap  up  their  little 
ones,  and  take  one  or  two  of  them  on  their 
beasts,  and  their  husbands  would  walk,  and 
they  would  go  to  church,  and  stay  in  the  neigh- 
borhood until  the  next  day,  and  then  go  home. 
The  old  men  would  start  out  of  their  fields  from 
their  work,  or  out  of  the  woods  from  hunting, 
with  their  guns  on  their  shoulders,  and  go  to 
church.  Some  of  them  dressed  in  deer-skin 
pants  and  moccasins,  hunting-shirts,  with  a  rope 
or  leather  strap  around  them.  They  would  come 
in  laughing,  shake  hands  all  around,  sit  down  and 
talk  about  the  game  they  had  killed,  or  some 


48        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

other  work  they  bad  done,  and  smoke  their  pipes 
together  with  the  old  ladies.  If  in  warm  weather, 
they  would  kindle  up  a  little  iire  out  in  the  meet- 
ing-house yard  to  light  their  pipes. 

"  If  in  winter-time,  they  would  hold  church  in 
some  of  the  neighbors'  houses.  At  such  times 
they  were  always  treated  with  the  utmost  of  kind- 
ness ;  a  bottle  of  whisky,  a  pitcher  of  water,  su- 
gar, and  glass  were  set  out,  or  a  basket  of  apples 
or  turnips,  or  some  pies  and  cakes.  Apples  were 
scarce  them  times.  Sometimes  potatoes  were 
used  for  a  treat.  (I  must  tell  you  that  the  first 
treat  I  ever  received  in  old  Mr.  Linkhern's  house 
— that  was  our  President's  father's  house — was  a 
plate  of  potatoes,  washed  and  pared  very  nicely, 
and  handed  'round.  It  was  something  new  to 
me,  for  I  had  never  seen  a  raw  potato  eaten  be- 
fore. I  looked  to  see  how  they  made  use  of 
them.  They  took  off  a  potato,  and  ate  them  like 
apples). 

"  Thus  they  spent  the  time  till  time  'for  preach- 
ing 'to  commence,  then  they  would  all  take  their 
sjats;  the  preacher  would  take  his  stand,  draw 
his  coat,  open  his  shirt-collar,  and  commence 
service  by  singing  and  prayer ;  take  his  text  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  4.9 

preach  till  the  sweat  would  roll  off  in  great  drops. 
Shaking  hands  and  singing  then  ended  the  serv- 
ice. The  people  seemed  to  enjoy  religion  more 
in  them  days  than  they  do  now.  They  were  glad 
to  see  each  other,  and  enjoyed  themselves  better 
than  they  do  now." 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  an  old  lady,  who,  like 
old  people  generally,  is  prone  to  praise  the  past 
at  the  expense  of  the  present. 

The  ladies  in  Abe's  early  days  wore  "corn-field 
bonnets,  scoop-shaped,  flaring  in  front,  and  long, 
though  narrow  behind."  They  were  as  fond  of 
dancing  as  our  city  ladies,  but  did  not  find  an 
elaborate  toilet  so  essential.  It  was  not  uncom- 
mon for  both  sexes  to  discard  shoes  and  dance 
barefooted.  I  have  no  doubt  they  enjoyed 
themselves  as  well,  if  not  better,  in  this  absence 
of  restraint,  than  their  more  polished  sisters  who 
are  to  be  found  in  city  drawing-rooms  to-day. 

Brought  up  in  such  an  unconventional  atmos- 
phere, it  is  not  surprising  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
never  set  much  value  upon  form  and  ceremony, 
and  sometimes  shocked  his  more  conventional  po- 
litical associates. 

Mr.  John  B.  Alley,  a  member  of  the  Massa- 


50  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

chusetts  Congressional  delegation  during  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion,  described  to  me  on  one  occasion 
how  much  shocked  Senator  Sumner  was  when, 
on  calling  upon  the  President,  in  company  with 
Lord  Lyons,  the  English  Minister,  they  found 
him  sitting  at  ease  in  true  "Western  style,  with 
his  heels  resting  on  the  table. 

"  How  are  yon,  Sumner?  "  was  the  President's 
greeting.  "  Take  a  seat,  Lord  Lyons." 

And  all  the  while  the  good  President  did  not 
seem  to  be  aware  that  he  was  acting  in  a  manner 
unbecoming  the  dignity  of  a  great  ruler.  Yet  he 
might  have  been  aware  of  it,  and  secretly  en- 
joyed the  annoyance  of  his  distinguished  guests. 
I  am  not  prepared  to  recommend  my  young 
readers  to  imitate  Lincoln  in  this  respect,  but  I 
wish  them  to  understand  how  he  was  affected  by 
his  early  acquaintances  and  surroundings.  We 
shall  all  agree  that  there  are  many  things  more 
important  than  polished  manners  and  personal 
dignity,  and  we  shall  find  hereafter  that  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  in  spite  of  his  homely  manners, 
was  a  Providential  man,  who  served  his  country 
in  her  hour  of  need,  as  probably  no  other  could 
have  done. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

A        KTVEE        TKIP. 

THUS  passed  the  early  years  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. He  was  approaching  manhood,  well  pre- 
pared physically  to  undertake  its  responsibilities, 
but  with  a  very  slender  stock  of  knowledge.  He 
had,  however,  acquired  a  taste  for  learning,  and  - 
was  a  close,  careful,  and  shrewd  observer.  He 
had  also  the  ability  to  speak  fluently  in  rough- 
and-ready  style  on  any  subject  of  which  lie  knew 
anything.  Of  the  world  he  had  seen  very  little, 
but  his  knowledge  in  that  direction  was  to  be  ex- 
tended by  a  trip  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Rivers,  which  he  took  at  the  age  of  nineteen. 

Early  in  1828  he  chanced  to  be  in  the  employ 
of  Mr.  Gentry,  the  founder  of  Gentryville,  a  vil- 
lage which  had  sprung  up  since  Thomas  Lincoln 
had  lived  in  the  neighborhood. 

One  morning  Allen  Gentry  said  to  Lincoln : 


52        BOYHOOD  AND  MANUOOD  OF 

"  Abe,  how  would  you  like  to  go  to  New  Or- 
leans with  me  ? " 

"  Are  yon  going  ? "  asked  Abe  eagerly. 

"  Yes,  I  am  almost  sure  of  going.  I  have 
spoken  to  father  about  letting  me  go  on  a  trading 
trip  down  the  river,  and  I  should  like  to  have  you 
go  with  me." 

"  I'll  go,"  said  Abe  promptly,  "  if  you'll  give 
me  the  chance." 

"  There  is  no  one  I  would  like  better  to  have 
with  me,"  answered  Allen,  "and  I  can't  go 
alone." 

He  had  good  reason  for  preferring  Abe  to  any 
of  his  other  friends,  not  only  that  young  Lincoln 
was  very  strong  and  capable,  but  because  he  had 
then,  as  in  after  years,  a  pleasant  humor,  which 
showed  itself  in  stories  which  he  had  pat  for  any 
occasion.  Though  homely  enough,  they  were 
never  destitute  of  point,  and  were  brimming 
over  with  shrewd  fun. 

To  a  backwoods  boy  the  proposed  trip  was  as 
fascinating — perhaps  more  so,  notwithstanding  the 
hard  work  involved — as  a  European  trip  nowadays. 
There  was  constant  variety;  there  was  a  varying 
panorama  of  meadows  and  villages,  as  they  floated 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  53 

down  the  rapid  current  to  the  mouth  of  the  great 
river. 

Mr.  Gentry  favored  his  son's  plan,  and  prepara- 
tions were  speedily  made. 

The ,  craft  on  which  the  two  young  men  em- 
barked was  a  flat-boat,  roughly  made.  It  was 
loaded  with  a  cargo  of  bacou  and  other  produce, 
such  as  it  was  thought  would  sell  readily  down 
South.  Abe  was  the  leader  of  the  expedition, 
and  the  business  was  under  his  care,  inexperi- 
enced as  he  was.  He  was  ready  to  take  the  re- 
sponsibility then  as  in  after  years,  when  he  pi- 
loted the  ship  of  State  with  its  valuable  cargo 
over  rougher  waters. 

o 

My  young  readers  may  be  interested  to  know 
th-it  he  was  paid  eight  dollars  per  month,  eating 
and  sleeping  on  bo.ird,  and  that  he  was  furnished 
with  free  return  passage  on  a  steamboat. 

The  custom  was  to  stop  at  all  important  points 
and  seek  an  opportunity  to  trade.  During  the 
night  the  boat  was  tied  up  to  the  shore,  and  the 
two  young  men  slept  on  board  in  the  little 
cabin. 

Generally,  there  was  no  risk  of  robbery  or 
hostile  attack ;  but  one  night,  a  few  miles  below 


54        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Baton  Rouge,  the  two  young  men  were  startled 
by  hearing  footsteps  on  board. 

"What's  that?"  inquired  Allen,  starting. 

"  We  must  have  visitors,"  replied  Abe  quietly. 

"  Then  they  are  not  the  right  kind.  They 
must  be  thieves." 

"  I  reckon  so.  Let  us  get  up  and  give  them  a 
reception." 

Eising  as  quietly  as  possible,  Abe  and  Allen 
Gentry  looked  out  and  saw  that  the  invading 
force  consisted  of  seven  stalwart  negroes.  They 
were  of  the  same  class,  only  bolder,  as  the  chicken 
thieves,  who  visit  their  neighbors'  hen-roosts. 

"  They  are  after  our  bacon,"  said  Abe.  "  We 
must  try  to  save  our  bacon  if  we  can,"  he  added, 
with  a  humorous  smile. 

Now,  it  requires  some  courage  to  get  up  in  the 
dead  of  night  and  confront  a  gang  of  thieves,  es- 
pecially when  they  are  seven  to  two,  but  the  two 
young  men  were  courageous,  and  they  had  no 
idea  of  submitting  tamely  to  robbery. 

"  Bring  the  guns,  Abe  !  "  exclaimed  Allen  in  a 
loud  tone,  intending  to  be  heard  by  the  maraud- 
ers. "  Bring  the  guns ;  shoot  them  !  " 

Lincoln  had  no  'gun,  but  he  had  a  huge  bludg- 


ABRAHAM  LTNCOLX.  55 

eon,  and  he  sprang  upon  them,  belaboring  them 
with  all  the  strength  of  his  sinewy  arm.  No  won- 
der they  were  terrified  as  they  surveyed  the  com- 
manding stature  of  the  stripling  and  felt  his  ter- 
rible blows.  Seven  to  two  as  they  were,  they 
found  discretion  the  better  part  of  valor,  and  fled, 
some  jumping  into  tho  water. 

But  Allen  and  Abe  were  not  satisfied  with  this 
victory.  They  felt  that  they  must  give  their  guilty 
visitors  a  lesson.  So  they  chased  them  far  back  into 
the  country,  and,  on  returning,  thought  it  best  to 
cut  loose  and  float  down  the  river,  lest  they  should 
have  another  call  from  their  unwelcome  visitors, 
possibly  reinforced  by  others  of  the  same  stripe. 
These  seven  negroes  little  dreamed  that  the  in- 
trepid young  man  who  so  belabored  them  was  des- 
tined under  the  providence  of  God  to  be  the  cham- 
pion and  deliverer  of  their  race  from  the  bondage 
under  which  they  groaned.  I  may  add  that  Abe 
himself  would  perhaps  have  been  even  more  sur- 
prised could  this  have  been  revealed  to  him,  as, 
bludgeon  in  hand,  he  chased  the  flying  negroes 
over  the  meadows. 

The  time  consumed  in  this  river  trip  was  about 
three  months.  The  result  was  satisfactory  to  his 


56        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

emplojer,  and  showed  that  his  confidence  in  his 
young  neighbor  was  not  misplaced.  On  his  re- 
turn, young  Lincoln  worked  as  before,  wherever 
opportunity  offered,  and  probably,  being  under 
age,  turned  in  his  earnings  to  the  common  fund. 
But  the  time  was  coming  when  the  family  were 
to  find  a  new  home.  Born  in  Kentucky,  Abe 
had  spent  rather  more  than  half  his  life  in  Indi- 
ana, but  a  new  State — the  one  which  now  claims 
him  as  her  most  distinguished  con — was  soon  to 
receive  him.  In  the  spring  of  1830,  Thomas 
Lincoln  pulled  up  stakes  and  moved  to  Illinois. 
But  his  immediate  family  was  smaller  now  than 
when  he  left  Kentucky.  Abe's  sister  had  mar- 
ried early,  and  survived  her  marriage  but  about 
a  year.  However,  there  were  the  step-children, 
and  the  families  of  Dennis  Hanks  and  Levi  Hall, 
so  that  the  company  numbered  thirteen  in  ail. 
Fifteen  days'  journey  brought  them  to  a  point 
ten  miles  west  of  Decatur,  where  a  small  house 
was  erected  on  the  north  bank  of  the  north  fork 
of  the  Sangamon  Hiver.  Abe  and  his  cousin 
John  broke  up  fifteen  acres  of  land  and  split  rails 
enough  to  serve  as  a  fence.  This  was  the  first 
time,  so  far  as  we  know,  that  young  Lincoln  jus- 


THE  YOUNG   RAIL  SPLITTER.     Page  57. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  57 

tified  the  appellation,  which  clung  to  him  in  after 
years,  of  Tail-splitter. 

But  young  Lincoln  was  now  n earing  the  age  of 
twenty-one.  Largely  because  of  his  affection  for 
his  step-mother,  to  whom  he  was  always  ready  to 
acknowledge  his  obligations,  he  had  remained 
about  home  much  longer  than  many  sons,  who 
forget  filial  duty  under  the  impulse  of  ambition 
or  enterprise.  So  his  twenty-first  birthday  found 
him  still  a  member  of  the  home  household.  Then, 
naturally  enough,  he  felt  that  it  was  time  to  set 
up  for  himself.  So  in  March  or  April  he  left 
home,  but  he  seemed  to  have  formed  no  definite 
plans — none  at  least  likely  to  carry  him  far  away 
from  home.  He  was  a  candidate  for  labor,  aiid 
took  whatever  offered,  but  the  proceeds  went  into 
his  own  pocket. 

One  of  the  "jobs"  which  he  undertook  was 
splitting  rails  for  a  man  named  Kirkpatrick.  I 
quote  from  Dr.  Holland  in  reference  to  this  period  : 

"  A  man  who  used  to  work  with  Abraham  oc- 
casionally during  his  first  year  in  Illinois,  says 
that  at  that  time  he  was  the  roughest-looking  per- 
son he  ever  saw.  He  was  tall,  angular,  and  un- 
gainly, and  wore  trousers  made  of  flax  and  tow, 


58        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

cut  tight  at  the  ankle,  and  out  at  both  knees. 
He  was  known  to  be  very  poor,  but  he  was  a 
welcome  gnest  in  every  house  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. This  informant  speaks  of  splitting  rails 
with  Abraham,  and  reveals  some  interesting  facts 
concerning  wages.  Money  was  a  commodity  never 
reckoned  upon.  Abraham  split  rails  to  get  cloth- 
ing, and  he  made  a  bargain  with  Mrs.  Nancy  Mil- 
ler to  split  four  hundred  rails  for  every  yard  of 
brown  jeans,  dyed  with  white  walnut  bark,  that 
would  be  necessary  to  make  him  a  pair  of 
trousers.  In  those  days  he  used  to  walk  four, 
six,  and  seven  miles  to  his  work." 

My  young  readers  will  be  interested  in  a  story 
which  relates  to  this  time.  Abe  was  working  for 
a  Mr.  Brown,  "raising  a  crap,"  when  a  traveler 
stopped  at  the  house  and  inquired  if  he  could  ob- 
tain accommodations  for  the  night,  there  being 
no  tavern  near. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Brown,  "  we  can  feed  your 
crittur  and  give  you  somethin'  \$  eat,  but  we 
can't  lodge  you  unless  you  can  sleep  on  the  same 
bed  with  the  hired  man." 

The  man,  who  was  sprucely  dressed,  hesitated, 
and  inquired : 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  59 

"Who  is  he?"  *" 

"Well,"  said.  Mr.  Brown,  "you  can  come  and 
see  him." 

So  the  man  followed  the  farmer  to  the  back  of 
the  house,  where  young  Lincoln  lay  extended  at 
full  length  on  the  ground  in  the  shade. 

"  There  he  is,"  said  Brown. 

"  Well,  1  think  he'll  do,"  said  the  stranger,  and 
he  stayed  and  slept  with  Abe,  whom  ho  then  no 
doubt  looked  down  upon  as  his  "soeid"  infeiior. 
Could  he  have  looked  forward  with  prophetic 
ken,  he  would  have  felt  honored  by  such  chance 
association  with  .a  man  destined  to  be  President 
of  the  United  States. 

I  am  sorry  that  some  doubts  are  thrown  upon 
this  story,  but  I  have  ventured  to  tell  it,  for  the 
vivid  contrast  between  the  position  which  young 
Lincoln  undoubtedly  occupied  at  that  time  and 
that  which  in  after  years  he  so  adequately  iilled. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

LINCOLN     AS     A     OLEEK. 

YOUNG  Lincoln's  successful  trip  to  New  Orleans 
led  to  liis  engagement  for  a  similar  trip  in  the 
early  part  of  1831.  With  him  were  associated 
John  Hanks  and  John  Johnston.  Their  em- 
ployer was  a  Mr.  Denton  Offutt,  of  Lexington, 
Kentucky,  and  a  part  of  the  cargo  consisted  of  a 
drove  of  hogs.  Each  of  the  three  was  to  be  paid 
at  the  rate  of  fifty  cents  per  day,  and  the  round 
sum  of  sixty  dollars  divided  between  them.  Abe 
considered  this  very  good  pay,  and  was  very  glad 
to  make  the  engagement.  The  three  young  men 
not  only  managed  the  boat,  but  built  it,  and  this 
retarded  the  expedition.  We  read  with  some  in- 
terest that  while  they  were  boarding  themselves 
at  Sangamontown,  while  building  the  boat,  Aba 
officiated  as  cook  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his 

associates. 

(60) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN..  Ql 

"At  New  Orleans,"  says  John  Hanks,  "  we 
law  negroes  chained,  maltreated,  whipped,  and 
scourged.  Lincoln  saw  it;  his  heart  bled,  he  said 
nothing  much,  was  silent  from  feeling,  was  sad, 
looked  bad,  felt  bad,  was  thoughtful  and  abstract- 
ed. I  can  say,  knowing  it,  that  it  was  on  this 
trip  that  he  formed  his  opinions  of  slavery.  It 
run  its  iron  in  him  then  and  there, — May,  1831. 
I  have  heard  him  say  so  often  and  often." 

One  day,  soon  after  his  return  from  his  second 
river  trip,  Abe  received  a  visit  from  a  muscular, 
powerfully-built  man,  who  accosted  him  thus:- 
"  You  are  Abe  Lincoln,  I  reckon  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  Abe ;  "  you  are  right  there." 

"  I've  heard  you  can  wrestle  some,"  continued 
the  stranger. 

"  A  little,"  answered  young  Lincoln,  modestly. 

"  I've  come  to  wrestle  with  you  to  see  who's 
the  best  man.  My  name's  Daniel  Needham." 

The  stranger  announced  his  name  with  evident 
pride,  and  young  Lincoln  recognized  it  as  that  of 
a  man  who  had  a  high  reputation  as  an  amateur 
pugilist. 

"  I'm  glad  to  know  you,"  said  Lincoln,  "  and  I 
don't  mind  accepting  your  challenge." 


62  BOYHOOD  AM)  MANHOOD  OF 

Abe  valued  his  popularity  among  the  boys,  and, 
though  he  did  not  feel  sure  of  the  result,  he  felt 
that  it  would  not  do  to  back  out.  .  He  would  lose 
his  reputation,  which  was  considerable. 

"  Where  shall  it  be  ? "  asked  Needham. 

"  Just  where  and  when  you  like,"  answered 
Abe,  promptly. 

So  the  meeting  was  fixed  in  the  "  greenwood  " 
at  Wabash  Point,  and  there  it  was  that  the  two 
met  in  friendly  rivalry. 

Though  Daniel  JSTeedham  was  older  and  more 
firmly  knit,  Lincoln  was  sinewy  and  strong,  and 
his  superior  height,  and  long  arms  and  legs  gave 
him  a  great  advantage — sufficient  to  compensate 
for  his  youth  and  spareness. 

The  result  was  that  Abe  achieved  victory  in 
short  order.  He  threw  his  older  opponent  twice 
with  so  much  ease  that  Needham  rose  to  his  feet 
very  much  mortified  as  well  as  astonished. 

"Lincoln,"  said  he,  making  the  confession  re- 
luctantly, "you  have  thrown  me  twice,  but  you 
can't  whip  me." 

"Are  you  satisfied  that  I  can  throw  you?" 
asked  Abe.  "If  yon  are  not,  and  must  be  con- 
vinced through  a  thrashing,  I  will  do  that  too  for 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Q$ 

"  I  reckon  we'll  put  it  off,"  said  Needham,  find- 
ing his  young  rival  more  willing  than  he  had  ex- 
pected. He  had  hoped  that,  though  not  shrinking 
from  a  friendly  wrestling  contest,  Abe  might  hes- 
itate to,  meet  him  in  a  more  serious  encounter. 

I  have  told  this  story  partly  because  I  know  my 
young  readers  would  be  interested  in  it,  partly  to 
give  an  idea  of  the  strength  and  athletic  power 
of  the  hero  of  rny  story. 

But  wrestling  contests  would  not  earn  a  living 
for  young  Lincoln.  He  was  in  search  of  employ- 
ment, and  found  it.  As  one  thing  leads  to  an- 
other, the  same  man  who  had  sent  him  to  New 
Orleans  in  charge  of  a  flat-boat,  opened  a  store  at 
New  Salem,  and  needing  a  clerk,  bethought  him- 
self of  young  Lincoln.  Abe  unpacked  the  goods 
upon  their  arrival,  and  worked  energetically  to 
put  them  in  order.  With  a  new  store-book,  serv- 
ing as  a  ledger,  and  a  pen  behind  his  car,  he  made 
his  debut  as  a  "  first  clerk "  of  the  leading  mer- 
cantile establishment  in  the  town.  In  the  readi- 
ness with  which  he  turned  from  one  thing  to  an- 
other, Abe  might  well  be  taken  for  a  typical  Yan- 
kee, though  born  in  Kentucky. 

We  are  now  to  look  upon  the  future  President 


64  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

in  a  new  capacity.  As  a  clerk  he  proved  honest 
and  efficient,  and  my  readers  will  be  interested  in 
some  illustrations  of  the  former  trait  which  I  find 
in  Dr.  Holland's  interesting  volume. 

One  day  a  woman  came  into  the  store  and  pur- 
chased sundry  articles.  They  footed  up  two  dol- 
lars and  six  and  a  quarter  cents,  or  the  young 
clerk  thought  they  did.  We  do  not  hear  nowa- 
days of  six  and  a  quarter  cents,  but  this  was  a 
coin  borrowed  from  the  Spanish  currency,  and  was 
well  known  in  my  own  boyhood. 

The  bill  was  paid,  and  the  woman  was  entirely 
satisfied.  But  the  young  store-keeper,  not  feeling 
quite  sure  as  to  the  accuracy  of  his  calculation, 
added  up  the  items  once  more.  To  his  dismay  he 
found  that  the  sum  total  should  have  been  but 
two  dollars. 

"  I've  made  her  pay  six  and  a  quarter  cents  too 
much,"  said  Abe,  disturbed. 

It  was  a  trifle,  ana  many  clerks  would  have  dis- 
missed it  as  such.  But  Abe  was  too  conscientious 
for  that. 

"  The  money  must  be  paid  back,"  he  decided. 

This  would  have  been  easy  enough  had  the 
woman  lived  "just  round  the  corner,"  but,  as  tlie 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Q$ 

young  man  knew,  she  lived  between  two  and 
three  miles  away.  This,  however,  did  not  alter 
the  matter.  It  was  night,  but  he  closed  and  lock- 
ed the  store,  and  walked  to  the  residence  of  his 
customer.  Arrived  there,  he  explained  the  mat- 
ter, paid  over  the  six  and  a  quarter  cents,  and  re- 
turned satisfied.  If  I  were  a  capitalist,  I  would 
be  willing  to  lend  money  to  such  a  young  man 
without  security. 

Here  is  another  illustration  of  young  Lincoln's 
strict  honesty  : 

A  woman  entered  the  store  and  asked  for  half 
a  pound  of  tea. 

The  young  clerk  weighed  it  out,  and  handed  it 
to  her  in  a  parcel.  This  was  the  last  sale  of  the 
day. 

The  next  morning,  when  commencing  his  du- 
ties, Abe  discovered  a  four-ounce  weight  on  the 
scales.  It  flashed  upon  him  at  once  that  he  had 
used  this  in  the  sale  of  the  night  previous,  and 
so,  of  course,  given  his  customer  short  weight.  I 
am  afraid  that  there  are  many  country  merchants 
who  would  not  have  been  much  worried  by  this 
discovery.  Not  so  the  young  clerk  in  whom  we 
are  interested.  He  weighed  out  the  balance  of 
5 


6j6  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

the  half  pound,  shut  up  store,  and  carried  it  to 
the  defrauded  customer.  I  think  my  young 
readers  will  begin  to  see  that  the  name  so  often 
given,  in  later  times,  to  President  Lincoln,  of 
"Honest  Old  Abe,"  was  well  deserved.  A  man 
who  begins  by  strict  honesty  in  his  youth  is  not 
likely  to  change  as  he  grows  older,  and  mercan- 
tile honesty  is  some  guarantee  of  political  honesty. 

There  is  another  incident  for  which  I  am  also 
indebted  to  Dr.  Holland  : 

The  yonng  clerk  was  waiting  upon  two  or  three 
ladies,  when  a  noted  bully  entered  the  store,  and 
began  to  talk  in  a  manner  offensive  not  only  to 
the  ladies,  but  to  any  person  of  refinement. 

Young  Lincoln  leaned  over  the  counter,  and 
said  quietly,  "  Don't  you  see  that  ladies  are 
present  ? " 

"  What  is  that  to  me  \ "  demanded  the  bully. 

"  Out  of  respect  for  them,  will  you  stop  your 
rough  talk  ? " 

"  I  will  talk  as  I  please,  and  I  should  like  to 
see  the  man  that  will  stop  me,"  answered  the  bully, 
arrogantly.  "  If  you  think  yon  are  the  better 
man,  we'll  try  it  on  the  spot." 

Lincoln  began  to  see  that  the  man  meant  to 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Qf 

force  a  quarrel  upon  him,  and  he  did  not  shrink 
from  it. 

"  If  you  will  wait  till  the  ladies  retire,"  he  said 
quietly,  "I  Mill  give  you  any  satisfaction  you 
wish." 

The  ladies  had  by  this  time  completed  their 
purchases,  and  were  glad  to  leave  the  store. 

Ko  sooner  had  they  left  than  the  bully  broke 
out  into  a  storm  of  abuses  and  insults.  The 
young  clerk  listened  with  the  quiet  patience  ha- 
bitual to  him,  and  finally  observed:  "Well,  if 
you  must  be  whipped,  I  suppose  I  may  as  well 
whip  you  as  any  other  man." 

"  That's  what  I'm  after,"  answered  the  bully. 

"  Come  outdoors,  then,"  said  Lincoln. 

Abe,  when  they  were  fairly  outside,  thought 
there  was  no  need  of  further  delay.  He  grappled 
with  the  bnlly,  threw  him  upon  the  ground  with 
ease,  and,  holding  him  there,  rubbed  some  "  smart- 
weed  "  in  his  face  and  eyes  till  he  bellowed  for 
mercy. 

"Do  you  give  up  ?"  asked  Abe,  in  no  way  ex- 
cited. 

"  Yes,  yes ! " 

Upon  this,  Lincoln  went  for  some  water,  wash- 


68  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ed  his  victim's  face,  and  did  what  he  could  to  al- 
leviate his  sufferings.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
fellow  never  wanted  another  dose  of  the  same 
medicine.  It  will  further  interest  my  young 
readers  to  learn  that,  so  far  from  feeling  a  grudge 
against  Lincoln,  the  bully  became  his  fast  friend, 
and  behaved  henceforth  in  a  more  creditable 
manner. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IN   THE  BLACK  HAWK  CAMPAIGN. 

THOUGH  the  young  clerk  proved  faithful  and 
efficient,  his  whole  time  was  not  taken  up  by  his 
duties  in  Offutt's  store.  Knowing  well  the  de- 
fects of  his  education,  it  occurred  to  him  that  he 
could  use  profitably  some  of  his  leisure  by  em- 
ploying it  in  study.  He  knew  little  or  nothing 
of  English  grammar,  and  this  was  likely  to  inter- 
fere with  him  if  called  upon  to  act  in  any  public 
capacity  where  he  would  be  required  to  make 
speeches. 

"  I  have  a  notion  to  study  English  grammar," 
he  said  to  Mr.  Graham,  the  schoolmaster. 

"  That  is  the  best  thing  you  can  do,  if  you 
expect  to  enter  political  life,"  said  the  teacher  in 
reply. 

"  Where  do  you  think  I  can  find  a  grammar  ? " 

asked  Lincoln. 

(G9) 


70  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  0V 

It  must  be  remembered  that  educational  books, 
and  indeed  books  of  any  kind,  were  scarce  in 
those  days. 

"  I  think  you  will  find  one  at  Yaner's." 

"  I  will  go  at  once  and  see,"  said  Lincoln. 

He  set  out  at  once,  though  Yaner's  was  six 
miles  distant,  but  such  a  walk  did  not  trouble  the 
young  man  at  all.  I  am  sure  it  will  strike  some 
of  my  young  readers  who  dislike  grammar,  as 
odd  that  he  should  be  willing  to  take  so  long  a 
walk  with  such  an  object  in  view ;  but  they  too 
might  do  the  same  if  they  were  as  earnestly  bent 
upon  self-improvement  as  our  hero.  It  is  enough 
to  say  that  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  coveted 
book,  and  began  at  once  to  study  it.  Sometimes 
he  was  able  to  go  out  of  doors  and  lie  under  a 
shade-tree ;  at  other  times  he  stretched  his  long, 
ungainly  form  on  the  counter  and  pored  in- 
tently over  the  little  book.  I  don't  know  whether 
the  obscure  little  text-book  is  still  in  existence ; 
if  it  were,  it  would  be  a  valuable  memorial  of 
this  transition  period  in  the  young  man's  mental 
growth. 

The  time  came  for  a  change  in  young  Lincoln's 
mode   of   life.      Mr.  Offutt's  business  declined, 


ABIiA  HAM  LINCOLN.  7  \ 

and  the  store  was  closed.  He  was  once  more  out 
of  employment.  Now  it  happened  about  this 
time  that  the  peace  of  this  region  was  disturbed 
by  a  series  of  Indian  -difficulties.  Black  Hawk,  a 
chief  of  the  Sacs,  was  the  instigator  and  Indian 
leader.  He  was  a  man  of  commanding  presence 
and  superior  abilities.  In  defiance  of  a  warning 
given  him  by  General  Atkinson,  commanding 
the  United  States  troops  at  Rock  Island,  he  left 
his  reservation,  and  announced  his  intention  ot 
ascending  the  Rock  River  to  the  territory  of  the 
Winnebagoes.  The  force  under  General  Atkinson 
being  small,  he  issued  a  call  for  volunteers.  One 
company  was  raised  in  New  Salem  and  the  vicin- 
ity, and  Lincoln  enlisted.  Though  without  mili- 
tary experience,  he  was  elected  to  the  post  of 
Captain  by  a  large  majority  of  the  company,  and 
accepted.  Tins  was  a  tribute  to  his  popularity 
among  his  friends  and  neighbors. 

Though  the  Black  Hawk  campaign  was  in  no 
way  remarkable,  and  involved  very  little  fighting, 
it  is  noteworthy,  as  Dr.  Holland  remarks,  that 
two  men  afterward  Presidents  of  the  United 
States  were  engaged  in  it.  These  were  Zachary 
Taylor  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  I  do  not  propose 


72  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

to  enter  into  a  detailed  account  of  this  campaign 
and  of  Lincoln's  part  in  it ;  I  prefer  to  quote 
Mr.  Lincoln's  own  account  of  it,  years  afterward, 
when  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
at  Washington.  It  was  during  the  political  cam- 
paign when  General  Cass  was  the  Democratic 
candidate,  and  was  intended  to  ridicule  the 
claims  of  his  friends,  that  he  had  rendered  dis- 
tinguished military  service  to  the  republic. 

"  By  the  way,  Mr.  Speaker,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln, 
"  do  you  know  I  am  a  military  hero  ?  Yes,  sir, 
in  the  days  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  I  fought, 
bled,  and  came  away.  Speaking  of  General  Cass' 
career  reminds  me  of  my  own.  I  was  not  at 
Sillman's  Defeat,  but  I  was  about  as  near  it  as 
Cass  to  Hull's  surrender;  and,  like  him,  I  saw 
the  place  soon  afterward.  It  is  quite  certain  I 
did  not  break  my  sword,  for  I  had  none  to  break ; 
but  I  bent  my  musket  pretty  badly  on  one  occa- 
sion. If  General  Cass  went  in  advance  of  me  in 
picking  whortleberries,  I  guess  I  surpassed  him 
in  charges  upon  the  wild  onions.  If  he  saw  any 
live,  fighting  Indian,  it  was  more  than  I  did  ;  but 
I  had  a  good  many  bloody  struggles  with  the 
mosquitoes,  and  although  I  never  fainted  from 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  73 

loss  of  blood,  I  can  truly  say  I  was  often  very 
hungry." 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  himself  became  a  candidate 
for  the  Presidency,  an  attempt  was  made  to  make 
capital  for  him  out  of  this  military  episode,  but 
fortunately  he  possessed  more  substantial  claims 
than  this. 

Though  there  was  little  fighting  to  be  done, 
there  was  an  occasion  that  tested  the  young  Cap- 
tain's courage  and  resolution.  As  the  incident  is 
characteristic  of  Lincoln,  and  shows  his  love  of 
justice  and  humanity,  I  will  transcribe,  as  better 
than  any  paraphrase  of  my  own,  the  account 
given  by  Mr.  Lamon  in  his  Life  of  Lincoln  : 

"  One  day,  during  these  many  marches  and  coun- 
ter-marches, an  old  Indian  found  his  way  into  the 
camp,  weary,  hungry,  and  helpless.  He  professed 
to  be  a  friend  of  the  whites;  and,  although  it  was 
an  exceedingly  perilous  experiment  for  one  of  his 
color,  he  ventured  to  throw  himself  upon  the 
mercy  of  the  soldiers.  But  the  men  first  mur- 
mured, and  then  broke  out  into  fierce  cries  for 
his  blood.  , 

"  '  We  have  come  out  to  fight  the  Indians,' 
said  they,  *  and  by  G —  we  intend  to  do  it ! ' 


74  JSOTHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

*c 
"  The  poor  Indian,  now  in  the  extremity  of  his 

distress  and  trouble,  did  what  he  ought  to  have 
done  before :  he  threw  down  before  his  assailants 
a  soiled  and  crumpled  paper  which  he  implored 
them  to  read  before  his  life  was  taken.  It  was  a 
letter  of  character  and  safe  conduct  from  Gen. 
Cass,  pronouncing  him  a  faithful  man,  who  had 
done  good  service  in  the  cause  for  which  this 
army  was  enlisted.  But  it  was  too  late;  the  men 
refused  to  read  it,  or  thought  it  a  forgery,  and 
were  rushing  with  fury  upon  the  defenceless  old 
savage,  when  Capt.  Lincoln  bounded  between 
them  and  their  appointed  victim. 

"  'Men,'  said  he,  and  his  voice  for  a  moment 
stilled  the  agitation  around  him,  '  this  must  not 
1e  done  •  fie  must  not  ~be  shot  and  killed  by  us" 

"'But,'  said  some  of  them,  'the  Indian  is  a 
spy.' 

"Lincoln  knew  that  his  own  life  was  now  in 
only  less  danger  than  that  of  the  poor  creature 
that  cowered  behind  him.  During  the  whole  of 
this  scene  Capt.  Lincoln  seemed  to  rise  to  an  un- 
usual height  of  stature.  The  towering  form,  the 
passion  and  resolution  in  his  face,  the  physical 
power  and  terrible  will  exhibited  in  every  motion 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  75 

of  his  body,  every  gesture  of  his  arm,  produced 
an  effect  upon  the  furious  mob  as  unexpected 
perhaps  to  him  as  to  any  one  else.  They  paused, 
listened,  fell  back,  and  then  sullenly  obeyed  what 
seemed  to  be  the  voice  of  reason  as  well  as  au- 
thority. But  there  were  still  some  murmurs  of 
disappointed  rage  and  half-suppressed  exclama- 
tions, which  looked  toward  vengeance  of  some 
kind.  At  length  one  of  the  men,  a  little  bolder 
than  the  rest,  but  evidently  feeling  that  he  spoke 
for  the  whole,  cried  out : 

" '  This  is  cowardly  on  your  part,  Lincoln  ! ' 

"  Whereupon  the  tall  Captain's  figure  stretched 
a  few  inches  higher  again.  He  looked  down  upon 
these  varlets  who  would  have  murdered  a  de- 
fenceless old  Indian  and  now  quailed  before  his 
single  hand,  with  lofty  contempt.  The  oldest  of 
his  acquaintances,  even  Bill  Green,  who  saw  him 
grapple  Jack  Armstrong  and  defy  the  bullies 
at  his  back,  never  saw  him  so  much  aroused 
before. 

u '  If  any  man  thinks  I  am  a  coward,  let  him 
test  it,'  said  he. 

" '  Lincoln,'  responded  a  new  voice,  '  you  are 
stronger  and  heavier  than  we  are.' 


76  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

" '  This  you  can  guard  against ;  choose  your 
weapons,'  returned  tho  rigid  Captain. 

"  Whatever  may  be  said  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  choice 
of  means  for  the  preservation  of  military  disci- 
pline, it  was  certainly  very  effectual  in  this  case. 
There  was  no  more  disaffection  in  his  camp,  and 
the  word  '  coward '  was  never  coupled  with  his 
name  again.  Mr.  Lincoln  understood  his  men 
better  than  those  who  would  be  disposed  to  criti- 
cise his  conduct.  He  has  often  declared  himself 
that  his  life  and  character  were  both  at  stake,  and 
would  probably  have  been  lost  had  he  not  at  that 
supremely  critical  moment  forgotten  the  officer  and 
asserted  the  man.  To  have  ordered  the  offend- 
ers under  arrest  would  have  created  a  powerful 
mutiny ;  to  have  tried  and  punished  them,  would 
have  been  impossible.  They  could  scarcely  be 
called  soldiers ;  they  were  merely  armed  citizens, 
'with  a  nominal  military  organization.  They  were 
but  recently  enlisted,  and  their  term  of  service 
was  about  to  expire.  Had  he  preferred  charges 
against  them,  and  offered  to  submit  their  differ- 
ences to  a  court  of  any  sort,  it  would  have  been 
regarded  as  an  act  of  personal  pusillanimity,  and 
his  efficiency  would  have  been  gone  forever." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  ff 

Then,  as  afterward,  Lincoln  proved  to  be  the 
man  for  the  emergency.  This  humble  captain 
of  volunteers  was  selected  by  Providence  to 
guide  and  direct  his  co-untrymen  in  the  greatest 
and  most  bloody  civil  contest  that  was  ever  waged, 
and  at  all  times  of  doubt,  danger,  and  perplexity 
he  manifested  the  same  calm  courage,  the  same 
firm  resolution,  and  the  same  humanity,  which 
made  him  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  the  intrepid 
champion  of  a  friendless  old  Indian. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

» 

IN     THE     LEGISLATURE. 

Mr  young  readers  will  have  noticed  how  ex- 
tremely slender  thus  far  had  been  the  educational 
advantages  of  young  Lincoln.  Of  the  thousands 
of  men  who  have  risen  to  eminence  in  this  coun- 
try from  similar  poverty,  few  have  had  so  little 
to  help  them.  In  England  the  path  of  promotion 
is  more  difficult,  and  I  doubt  whether  any  one 
circumstanced  as  Abraham  Lincoln  was  could 
ever  have  reached  a  commanding  position.  It 
will  be  interesting  in  this  connection  to  read  the 
statement  made  by  John  Bright  at  his  recent  in- 
stallation as  Lord  Rector  of  Glasgow  University. 
It  will  show  what  a  difference  there  is  between 
limited  advantages  in  England  and  in  America : 

"  I  am  an  entire  stranger  to  University  life  in 
the  University  sense,"  says  Mr.  Bright.  "  I  may 

be  said  to  be  a  man  who  never  had  the  advan- 
(78) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  79 

tagcs  of  education.  1  had  the  teaching  of  some 
French — as  Englishmen  teach  French,  and  I  had 
the  advantages  of  a  year's  instruction  in  Latin  by 
a  most  admirable  tutor — a  countryman  of  yours 
from  the  University"  of  Edinburgh.  But  there 
was  not  much  Greek — not  so  much  that  any 
trace  of  it  is  left.  There  was  nothing  in  the 
shape  of  mathematics  or  science.  Looking  at 
education  as  you  take  it,  I  am  a  person  who  had 
the  misfortune  to  have  had  almost  none  of  it  in 
my  youth.  You  will  not,  therefore,  be  surprised 
if  I  feel  a  certain  humiliation  in  seeming  to  teach 

o 

you  anything,  and  if  I  feel  a  strong  sense  of  envy 
— but  not  a  blauiable  envy — that  I  never  possessed 
the  advantages  which  are  placed  within  your 
reach.  But  if  I  had  no  education  such  as  col- 
leges and  universities  give,  if  my  school-life 
ended  at  the  precise  time  when  your  university 
career  begins ;  if  I  am  unknown  to  literature  and 
to  science  and  to  arts,  I  ask  myself  what  is  it  that 
has  brought  me  within  the  range  of  your  sympa- 
thies— brought  me  to  this  distinguished  position  ? 
I  suppose  it  must  be  because  you  have  some  sym- 
pathy with  my  labors.  You  believe  that  I  have 
been  in  some  sort  a  political  teacher ;  that  I  have 


80  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

taken  some  pains  and  perhaps  have  been  of  some 
service  in  the  legislation  and  government  of  our 
country." 

Had  Lincoln  possessed  one-half  the  educational 
equipment  of  John  Bright  when  he  entered  upon 
political  life  he  would  have  felt  much  better  sat- 
isfied. 

Abraham  Lincoln  on  his  return  from  the 
Black  Hawk  campaign  was  twenty-three  years 
old.  Though  he  was  about  as  poor  as  he  had 
always  been,  he  was  rich  in  the  good  opinion  of 
his  friends  and  neighbors.  This  is  evinced  by  an 
application  then  made  to  him  to  allow  himself  to 
run  for  the  Legislature.  He  consented,  though 
surprised  at  the  request,  and  polled  a  vote  con- 
siderably in  advance  of  other  candidates  of  the 
same  party.  In  New  Salem  he  polled  an  almost 
unanimous  vote,  men  voting  for  him  without  re- 
gard to  party  lines.  Still,  he  was  defeated.  A 
brief  speech  which  he  made  during  the  canvass 
has  been  preserved,  and,  as  it  is  characteristic,  I 
quote  it : 

"  GENTLEMEN  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  I  pre- 
sume you  all  know  who  I  am.-  I  am  humble 
Abraham  Lincoln.  I  have  been  solicited  by 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  81 

many  friends  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  Leg- 
islature. My  politics  are  short  and  sweet,  like 
the  old  woman's  dance.  I  am  in  favor  of  a  na- 
tional bank.  I  am  in  favor  of  the  internal  im- 
provement system  and  a  high  protective  tariff. 
These  are  my  sentiments  and  political  principles. 
If  elected,  I  shall  be  thankful ;  if  not,  it  will  be 
all  the  same." 

It  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  cast  in  his 
lot  with  the  "Whig  party — the  party  of  whom 
Henry  Clay  was  at  that  time  the  most  distin- 
guished representative,  and  for  whom  the  young 
man  had  a  strong  admiration. 

The  great  problem  of  how  he  was  to  make  his 
living  had  not  yet  been  solved  by  young  Lincoln. 
Dr.  Holland  is  our  authority  for  the  statement 
that  he  seriously  took  into  consideration  the  proj- 
ect of  learning  the  blacksmith's  trade.  An  op- 
portunity, however,  offered  for  him  to  buy  out  a 
stock  of  goods  owned  by  a  man  of  Radford,  in  con- 
nection with  a  man  named  Berry.  This  supplied 
him  employment  for  a  time,  but  not  of  a  profitable 
nature,  for  his  partner  proved  a  hindrance  rather 
than  a  help,  and  failure  ensued.  Lincoln  was  in- 
volved in  debt,  and  it  was  six  years  before  he 
fi 


82        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

freed  himself  from  his  obligations.  About  this 
time  he  received  his  first  political  appointment — 
that  of  postmaster — from  the  administration  of 
General  Jackson.  It  brought  in  very  little  rev- 
enue, but  gave  him  a  privilege  which  he  valued 
of  reading  all  the  newspapers  which  came  to  the 
office.  The  office  seemed  to  have  been  conducted 
in  free  and  easy  style.  When  the  young  post- 
master had  occasion  to  go  out  he  closed  the  office 
and  carried  off  the  mail  matter  in  his  hat. 

When  his  store  was  closed  permanently,  young 
Lincoln  received  an  offer  from  the  surveyor  of 
Sangamon  County  to  undertake  all  his  work  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  New  Salem. 
Though  Lincoln  knew  nothing  of  surveying, 
either  practically  or  theoretically,  he  qualified 
himself  for  the  work,  procured  a  compass  and 
chain,  and  went  to  work.  It  is  an  interesting 
proof  of  the  young  surveyor's  thoroughness  that, 
in  spite  of  his  inadequate  preparation,  the  accu- 
racy of  his  surveys  has  never  been  called  in  ques- 
tion. 

Two  years  later  Lincoln  ran  again  for  the  Leg- 
islature, and  this  time  he  succeeded.  Among  his 
colleagues  was  Major  John  T.  Stuart,  a  prosper- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  83 

cms  lawyer  of  Springfield.  He  was  a  previous 
acquaintance  of  young  Lincoln,  and  their  present 
companionship  strengthened  the  interest  of  the 
older  man  in  his  struggling  young  friend. 

"  Wlvy  don't  you  study  law  ? "  he  asked  Lin- 
coln. 

"  Because  I  am  poor ;  I  have  no  money  to  buy 
the  necessary  books,"  said  Abe. 

"  Have  you  ever  thought  of  following  the  pro- 
fession ? " 

"  Yes,  I  have  already  read  law  some." 

"I  believe  you  would  succeed.  If  books  are 
all  you  need,  I  have  a  large  law  library  and  will 
lend  you  what  you  need." 

Abe's  face  lighted  up  with  pleasure. 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  he  said,  "and  I  will  take 
you  at  your  word.  When  can  I  have  the  books  ? " 

'k  Whenever  you  will  call  for  them." 

This  was  not  an  offer  which  young  Lincoln 
could  afford  to  slight.  At  the  close  of  the  canvass 
he  walked  to  Springfield,  called  at  the  office  of 
his  friend  Stuart,  and  returned  to  New  Salem 
with  a  load  of  books,  which  he  forthwith  besan 

'  O 

to  read  and  study. 

"Abe's  progress  in  the  law,"  says  Mr.  Lamon, 


84:  VOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"was  as  surprising  as  the  intensity  of  his  applica- 
tion to  study.  He  never  lost  a  moment  that 
might  be  improved.  It  is  even  said  that  he  read 
and  recited  to  himself  on  the  road  and  by  the 
wayside,  as  he  came  down  from  Springfield  with 
the  books  he  had  borrowed  from  Stuart.  The 
first  time  he  went  up  he  had  '  mastered '  forty 
pages  of  Blackstone  before  he  got  back.  It  was 
not  long  until,  with  his  restless  desire  to  be  doing 
something  practical,  he  began  to  turn  his  acqui- 
sitions to  account  in  forwarding  the  business  of 
his  neighbors.  He  wrote  deeds,  contracts,  notes, 
and  other  legal  papers,  for  them,  '  using  a  small 
dictionary  and  an  old  form-book';  pettifogged 
incessantly  before  the  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  probably  assisted  that  functionary  in  the 
administration  of  justice  as  much  as  he  ben- 
efited his  own  clients.  This  species  of  country 
student  practice  was  entered  upon  very  early, 
and  kept  up  until  long  after  he  was  a  distin- 
guished man  in  the  Legislature.  But  in  all  this 
he  was  only  trying  himself;  as  he  was  not  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  until  1837,  he  did  not  regard  it 
as  legitimate  practice,  and  never  charged  a  penny 
for  his  services." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  §5 

Young  Lincoln  took  part  in  the  legislative  work 
of  the  first  session  during  which  he  served  as  a 
member,  but  did  not  push  himself  forward.  He 
listened  and  took  notes  of  what  was  done,  and 
how  it  was  done.  He  was  assigned  to  an  honor- 
able place  on  the  Committee  on  Public  Accounts 
and  Expenditures.  It  was  about  this  time  that 
he  saw  for  the  first  time  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  with 
whom  he  was  in  after  years  to  be  associated  in 
the  memorable  canvass  for  the  Senatorship. 
Douglas,  who  was  only  about  five  feet  in  height, 
was  also  slender,  and  in  personal  appearance  pre- 
sented a  striking  contrast  to  the  long-legged  young 
legislator  who  overtopped  him  by  more  than  a 
foot. 

"  He  is  the  smallest  man  I  ever  saw,"  said  Lin- 
coln. 

Douglas  filled  up  as  he  grew  older,  till  he  came 
to  deserve  the  title  by  which  he  was  so  long 
known,  of  "  The  Little  Giant."  He  was  not  at 
that  time  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  but  was 
a  successful  candidate  for  the  position  of  District 
Attorney  for  the  district  in  which  he  lived.  Un- 
like Lincoln,  he  was  not  a  Western  man  by  birth, 
having  been  born  and  "  raised  "  in  Yermont.  In 


$Q  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

fact  he  had  only  come  West  during  the  previous 
year ;  but  he  was  not  a  man  to  hide  his  light  under 
a  bushel,  and  soon  worked  himself  into  promi- 
nence in  his  new  home.  Two  years  later,  in  1838, 
Douglas,  as  well  as  Lincoln,  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature,  and  they  served  together.  In  public 
life,  therefore,  Lincoln  preceded  Douglas  by  two 
years,  but  the  latter  advanced  much  more  rapidly 
and  became  a  man  of  national  reputation,  while 
Lincoln  was  still  comparatively  obscure. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A     CASE     IN     COURT 

WE  are  told  by  Mr.  Lamon,  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
got  his  license  as  an  attorney  early  in  1837,  and 
commenced  practice  regularly  as  a  lawyer  in  the 
town  of  Springfield,  in  March  of  that  year.  It 
is  with  this  place  that  his  name  was  associated  for 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  Though  it  contained 
at  that  time  less  than  two  thousand  inhabitants, 
it  was  a  town  of  considerable  importance.  The 
list  of  the  local  bar  contained  the  names  of  sev- 
eral men  of  ability  and  reputation.  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  already  referred  to,  was  public  prosecu- 
tor in  1836.  Judge  Stephen  T.  Logan  was  on  the 
bench  of  the  Circuit  Court.  There  was  John  T. 
Stuart  also,  who  had  recommended  young  Lincoln 
to  become  a  lawyer,  and  was  now  his  partner. 

The  law  office  of  Stuart  and  Lincoln  was  in 

the  second  story  above  the  court-room,  in  Hoff- 

(87) 


88  'BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

man's  Row.  It  was  small  and  poorly  furnished. 
Lincoln  slept  in  the  office,  and  boarded  with  Hon. 
"William  Butler,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  poli- 
tician and  wire-puller. 

At  last,  then,  after  a  youth  of  penury,  a  long 
hand-to-hand  struggle  with  privations  in  half  a 
dozen  different  kinds  of  business,  we  find  our 
hero  embarked  in  the  profession  which,  for  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  he  owned  as  mistress.  He 
is  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  with  some  legislative 
experience,  but  a  mere  novice  in  law.  But  he 
was  ambitious,  and  in  spite  of  his  scanty  equip- 
ment as  regards  book-knowledge,  he  made  up  his 
mind  to  succeed,  and  he  did  succeed. 

Though  I  am  thereby  anticipating  matters,  I 
propose  to  relate  an  incident  of  his  law  practice 
which  I  find  quoted  in  "  Raymond's  History  "  of 
Lincoln's  Administrations,  from  the  Cleveland 
Leader.  It  illustrates  not  merely  Mr.  Lincoln's 
methods  and  shrewdness  as  a  lawyer,  but  also 
his  fidelity  to  friends. 

* 

This  is  the  story  : 

"  Some  four  years  since,  the  eldest  son  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  old  friend,  the  chief  supporter  of  his 
widowed  mother — the  good  old  man  having  some 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  39 

* 

time  previously  passed  from  earth — was  arrested 
on  a  charge  of  murder.  A  young  man  had  been 
killed  during  a  riotous  melee  in  the  night  time  at 
a  camp-meeting,  and  one  of  his  associates  stated 
that  the  death-wound  was  inflicted  by  young 
Armstrong.  A  preliminary  examination  was  gone 
into,  at  which  the  accuser  testified  so  positively, 
that  there  seemed  no  donbt  of  the  guilt  of  the 
prisoner,  and  therefore  he  was  held  for  trial. 

"As  is  too  often  the  case,  the  bloody  act  caused 
an  undue  degree  of  excitement  in  the  public 
mind.  Every  improper  incident  in  tine  life  of  the 
prisoner — each  act  which  bore  the  least  semblance 
of  rowdyism — each  school-boy  quarrel — was  sud- 
denly remembered  and  magnified,  until  they  pict- 
ured him  as  a  fiend  of  the  most  horrible  hue.  As 
these  rumors  spread  abroad  they  were  received  ^.s 
gospel  truth,  and  a  feverish  desire  for  vengeance 
seized  upon  the  infatuated  populace,  whilst  only 
prison  bars  prevented  a  horrible  death  at  the 
hands  of  the  populace.  The  events  were  heralded 
in  the  county  papers,  painted  in  the  highest  colors, 
accompanied  by  rejoicing  over  the  certainty  of 
punishment  being  meted  out  to  the  guilty  party. 
The  prisoner,  overwhelmed  by  the  circumstances 


90        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

in  which  he  found  himself  placed,  fell  into  a 
melancholy  condition  bordering  on  despair,  and 
the  widowed  mother,  looking  through  her  tears, 
saw  no  cause  for  hope  from  earthly  aid. 

"  At  this  juncture  the  widow  received  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Lincoln,  volunteering  his  services  in  an 
effort  to  save  the  youth  from  the  impending  stroke. 
Gladly  was  his  aid  accepted,  although  it  seemed 
impossible  for  even  his  sagacity  to  prevail  in  such 
a  desperate  case ;  but  the  heart  of  the  attorney 
was  in  his  work,  and  he  set  about  it  with  a  will 
which  knew  no  such  word  as  fail.  Feeling  that 
the  poisoned  condition  of  the  public  mind  was 
such  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  impanelling 
an  impartial  jury  in  the  court  having  jurisdiction, 
he  procured  a  change  of  venue  and  a  postpone- 
ment of  the  trial.  He  then  went  studiously  to 
work,  unravelling  the  history  of  the  case,  and  sat- 
isfied himself  that  his  client  was  the  victim  of 
malice,  and  that  the  statements  of  the  accuser 
were  a  tissue  of  falsehoods. 

"  When  the  trial  was  called  on,  the  prisoner, 
pale  and  emaciated,  with  hopelessness  written  on 
every  feature,  and  accompanied  by  his  half-hoping, 
half-despairing  mother — whose  only  hope  was  in 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  9  { 

a  mother's  belief  of  her  son's  innocence,  in  the 
justice  of  the  God  she  worshipped,  and  in  the 
noble  counsel,  who,  without  hope  of  fee  or  re- 
ward upon  earth,  had  undertaken  the  cause — took 
his  scat  in  the  prisoners'  box,  and,  with  a  '  stony 
firmness,'  listened  to  the  reading  of  the  indict- 
ment. 

"  Lincoln  sat  quietly  by,  whilst  the  large  body 
of  auditors  looked  on  him  as  though  wondering 
what  he  could  say  in  defence  of  one  whose  guilt 
they  looked  upon  as  certain.  The  examination  of 
the  witnesses  for  the  State  was  begun,  and  a  well- 
arranged  mass  of  evidence,  circumstantial  and 
positive,  was  introduced,  which  seemed  to  impale 
the  prisoner  beyond  the  possibility  of  extrication. 

"  The  counsel  for  the  defense  propounded  but 
few  questions,  and  those  of  a  character  which  ex- 
cited no  uneasiness  on  the  part  of  the  prosecutor 
— merely,  in  most  cases,  requiring  the  main  wit- 
nesses to  be  definite  as  to  time  and  place.  When 
the  evidence  of  the  prosecution  was  ended,  Lin- 
coln introduced  a  few  witnesses,  to  remove  some 
erroneous  impressions  in  regard  to  the  previous 
character  of  his  client,  who,  though  somewhat 
rowdyish,  had  never  been  known  to  commit  a 


92  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

vicious  act ;  and  to  show  that  a  greater  degree  of 
ill-feeling  existed  between  the  accuser  and  the  ac- 
cused than  between  the  accused  and  the  deceased. 

"  The  prosecutor  felt  that  the  case  was  a  clear 
one,  and  his  opening  speech  was  brief  and  for- 
mal. Lincoln  arose,  while  a  deathly  silence  per- 
vaded the  vast  audience,  and,  in  a  clear  and  mod- 
erate tone,  began  his  argument.  Slowly  and  care- 
fully he  reviewed  the  testimony,  pointing  out  the 
hitherto  unobserved  discrepancies  in  the  state- 
ments of  the  principal  witness.  That  which  had 
seemed  plain  and  plausible  he  made  to  appear 
crooked  as  a  serpent's  path.  The  witness  had 
stated  that  the  affair  took  place  at  a  certain  hour 
in  the  evening,  and  that,  by  the  brightly  shining 
moon,  he  saw  the  prisoner  inflict  the  death-blow 
with  a  slung-shot.  Mr.  Lincoln  showed  tha*t  at 
the  hour  referred  to,  the  moon  had  not  yet  ap- 
peared above  the  horizon,  and,  consequently,  the 
whole  tale  was  a  fabrication. 

"  An  almost  instantaneous  change  seemed  to 
have  been  wrought  in  the  minds  of  his  auditors, 
and  the  verdict  of  '  not  guilty '  was  at  the  end  of 
every  tongue.  But  the  advocate  was  not  content 
with  this  intellectual  achievement.  His  whole 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  93 

being  had  for  months  been  bound  up  in  this  work 
of  gratitude  and  mercy,  and  as  the  lava  of  the 
overcharged  crater  bursts  from  its  imprisonment, 
so  great  thoughts  and  burning  words  leaped  forth 
from  the  soul  of  the  eloquent  Lincoln.  He  drew 
a  picture  of  the  perjurer  so  horrid  and  ghastly, 
that  the  accuser  could  sit  under  it  no  longer,  but 
reeled  and  staggered  from  the  court-room,  whilst 
the  audience  fancied  they  could  see  the  brand 
upon  his  brow.  Then  in  words  of  thrilling  pathos, 
Lincoln  appealed  to  the  jurors  as  fathers  of  some 
who  might  become  fatherless,  and  as  husbands  of 
wives  who  might  be  widowed,  to  yield  to  no  pre- 
vious impressions,  no  ill-founded  prejudice,  but  to 
do  his  client  justice;  and  as  he  alluded  to  the 
debt  of  gratitude  which  he  owed  the  boy's  sire, 
tears  were  seen  to  fall  from  many  eyes  unused  to 
weeping. 

"It  was  near  night  when  he  conclude'd  by  say- 
ing that  if  justice  were  done,  as  he  believed  it 
would  be, — before  the  sun  should  set, — it  would 
shine  upon  his  client  a  free  man. 

"  The  jury  retired,  and  the  court  adjourned  for 
the  day.  Half  an  hour  had  not  elapsed,  when, 
as  the  officers  of  the  court  and  the  volunteer  at- 


94        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

torney  sat  at  the  tea-table  of  their  hotel,  a  mes- 
senger announced  that  the  jury  had  returned  to 
their  seats.  All  repaired  immediately  to  the 
court-house,  and  whilst  the  prisoner  was  being 
brought  from  the  jail,  the  court-room  was  filled 
to  overflowing  with  citizens  from  the  town. 

"  When  the  prisoner  and  his  mother  entered, 
silence  reigned  as  completely  as  though  the  house 
were  empty.  The  foreman  of  the  jury,  in  an- 
swer to  the  usual  inquiry  from  the  court,  deliv- 
ered the  verdict  of  '  NOT  GUILTY  ! '  The  widow 
dropped  into  the  arms  of  her  son,  who  lifted  her 
up,  and  told  her  to  look  upon  him  as  before,  free 
and  innocent.  Then  with  the  words,  '  Where  is 
Mr.  Lincoln  ? '  he  rushed  across  the  room,  and 
grasped  the  hand  of  his  deliverer,  whilst  his  heart 
was  too  full  for  utterance.  Lincoln  turned  his 
eyes  toward  the  west,  where  the  sun  still  lingered 
in  view,  and  then,  turning  to  the  youth,  said :  '  It 
is  not  yet  sundown,  and  you  are  free.'  I  confess 
that  my  cheeks  were  not  wholly  unwet  by  tears, 
and  I  turned  from  the  affecting  scene.  As  I  cast 
a  glance  behind,  I  saw  Abraham  Lincoln  obeying 
the  Divine  injunction  by  comforting  the  widowed 
and  fatherless." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  95 

"When  a  lawyer  can  so  bravely  and  affectionate- 
ly rescue  the  innocent  from  the  machinations  of 
the  wicked,  we  feel  that  he  is  indeed  the  expo- 
nent and  representative  of  a  noble  profession.  It 
is  unfortunate  that  lawyers  so  often  lend  them- 
selves to  help  iniquity,  and  oppress  the  weak. 
Mr.  Lincoln  always  did  his  best  when  he  felt  that 
liight  and  Justice  were  on  his  side.  When  he 
had  any  doubts  on  this  point,  he  lost  all  his  en- 
thusiasm and  his  courage,  and  labored  mechani- 
cally, lie  believed  in  justice,  and  would  not  will- 
ingly act  on  the  wrong  side.  On  one  occasion  he 
discovered  that  he  had  been  deceived  by  his  client, 
and  informed  his  associate  lawyer  that  he  (Lin- 
coln) would  not  make  the  plea.  His  associate, 
therefore,  did  so,  and  to  Lincoln's  surprise  gained 
a  verdict.  Convinced,  nevertheless,  that  his  client 
was  wrong,  he  would  not  accept  any  part  of  the 
handsome  fee  of  nine  hundred  dollars,  which  he 
paid.  Only  an  honest  and  high-minded  lawyer 
would  have  acted  thus. 


CHAPTER  XL 

MR.  LINCOLN   FORMS   TWO   PARTNERSHIPS. 

PRACTICING  law  in  those  days,  and  in  that  re- 
gion, had  some  peculiar  features.  It  was  the  cus- 
tom for  lawyers  to  "  ride  the  circuit,"  that  is,  to 
accompany  the  judges  from  one  country-town  to 
another,  attending  to  such  business  as  might  offer, 
in  different  sections  of  the  State.  Railroads  had 
not  yet  found  their  way  out  so  far  West,  and  the 
lawyer  was  wont  to  travel  on  horseback,  stopping 
at  cabins  on  the  way  to  eat  and  sleep,  and,  in 
brief,  to  "  rough  it."  One  brought  up  like  Lin- 
coln was  not  likely  to  shrink  from  any  hardships 
which  this  might  entail.  Indeed,  it  is  likely  that, 
upon  the  whole,  he  enjoyed  it,  and  that  these 
journeys  increased  his  natural  shrewdness  and 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  furnished  him 
with  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  apposite  sto- 
ries which  he  was  wont  to  quote  in  later  years. 
(96) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  97 

Here  is  an  incident  which  will  amuse  my  read- 
ers. It  is  told  by  Mr.  Francis  E.  Willard :  "  In 
one  of  my  temperance  pilgrimages  through  Illi- 
nois, I  met  a  gentleman  who  was  the  companion 
in  a  dreary  ride  which  Lincoln  made  in  a  light 
wagon,  going  the  rounds  of  a  Circuit  Court  where 
he  had  clients  to  look  after.  The  weather  was 
rainy,  the  road  heavy  with  mud  of  the  Southern 
Illinois  pottery,  never  to  be  imagined  as  to  its 
blackness  and  profundity  by  him  who  has  not 
seen  it,  and  assuredly  needing  no  description  to 
jostle  the  memory  of  one  who  has.  Lincoln  en- 
livened the  way  with  anecdote  and  recital,  for  few 
indeed  were  the  incidents  that  relieved  the  tedium 
of  the  trip. 

"  At  last,  in  wallowing  through  a  '  slough '  of 
the  most  approved  Western  manufacture,  they 
came  upon  a  poor  shark  of  a.  hog,  who  had  suc- 
cumbed to  gravitation,  and  was  literally  fast  in 
the  mud.  The  lawyers  commented  on  the  poor 
creature's  pitiful  condition,  and  drove  on.  About 
half  a  mile  was  laboriously  gone  over,  when  Lin- 
coln suddenly  exclaimed  :  '  I  don't  know  how  you 
feel  about  it,  but  I've  got  to  go  back  and  pull  that 
hog  out  of  the  slough.' 
7 


98        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  His  comrade  laughed,  thinking  it  merely  a 
joke;  but  what  was  his  surprise  when  Lincoln 
dismounted,  left  him  to  his  reflections,  and,  strid- 
ing slowly  back,  like  a  man  on  stilts,  picking  his 
way  as  his  long  walking  implements  permitted, 
he  grappled  with  the  drowning  hog,  dragged  him. 
out  of  the  ditch,  left  him  on  its  edge  to  recover 
his  strength,  slowly  measured  off  the  distance 
back  to  his  buggy,  and  the  two  men  drove  off  as 
if  nothing  had  happened." 

This  little  incident  is  given  to  show  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  did  not  confine  his  benevolence  to  his 
own  race,  but  could  put  himself  to  inconvenience 
to  relieve  the  sufferings  of  an  inferior  animal. 
In  fact,  his  heart  seemed  to  be  animated  by  the 
spirit  of  kindness,  and  this  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant respects  in  which  I  am  glad  to  hold  him 
out  as  an  example  to  the  young.  Emulate  that 
tenderness  of  heart  which  led  him  to  sympathize 
with  "  the  meanest  thing  that  breathes,"  and,  like 
him,  you  will  win  the  respect  and  attachment  of 
the  best  men  and  women! 

The  young  lawyer,  successful  as  he  was  in 
court,  did  not  make  money  as  fast  as  some  of-  his 
professional  associates.  One  reason  I  have  al- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  y^ 

ready  given — he  would  not  willingly  exert  bis 
power  on  the  wrong  side.  Moreover,  he  was 
modest,  and  refrained  from  exorbitant  charges, 
and  he  was  known  at  times  to  remit  fees  justly 
due  when  his  client  was  unfortunate.  One  day 
he  met  a  client  who  had  given  him  a  note,  nearly 
due,  for  professional  services. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln,"  he  said,  "  I  have  been  thinking 
of  that  note  I  owe  you.  I  don't  see  how  I  am  to 
meet  it.  I  have  been  disabled  by  an  explosion, 
and  that  has  affected  my  income." 

"  I  heard  of  your  accident,"  said  Lincoln, "  and 
I  sympathize  with  you  deeply.  As  to  the  note, 
here  it  is." 

"  But  I  can  not  meet  it  at  present." 

"I  don't  want  you  to.  Take  it,  and  destroy  it. 
I  consider  it  paid." 

No  doubt  many  lawyers  would  have  done  the 
same,  but  it  so  happened  that  Lincoln  was  at  that 
moment  greatly  in  need  of  money,  and  was 
obliged  to  defer  a  journey  on  that  account.  It 
was  not  out  of  his  abundance,  but  out  of  his  pov- 
erty, that  he  gave. 

As  to  his  professional  methods,  they  were  pe- 
culiar. He  was  always  generous  to  an  opponent. 


100  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Instead  of  contesting  point  by  point,  he  often 
yielded  more  than  was  claimed,  and  excited  alarm 
in  the  breast  of  his  client.  Bat  when  this  was 
done,  he  set  to  work  and  stated  his  own  view  of 
the  case  so  urgently  that  the  strength  of  his  op- 
ponent's position  was  undermined,  his  arguments 
torn  to  pieces,  and  the  verdict  secured.  He  was 
remarkably  fair,  and  stated  his  case  so  clearly  that 
no  juror  of  fair  intelligence  could  fail  to  under- 
stand him. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  a 
partner.  It  is  a  proof  of  his  scrupulous  honesty 
that  when  upon  his  circuits  he  tried  any  cases  that 
were  never  entered  at  the  office,  he  carefully  set 
aside  a  part  of  the  remuneration  for  the  absent 
partner,  who  otherwise  would  never  have*  known 
of  them,  and  might  be  supposed  hardly  entitled 
to  a  share  of  the  fees. 

For  the  following  anecdote,  in  further  illustra- 
tion of  Mr.  Lincoln's  conscientiousness  in  money 
matters,  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Frank  B.  Carpen- 
ter's very  interesting  little  volume,  entitled  "  Six 
Months  at  the  White  House":  "About  the  time 
Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  be  known  as  a  successful 
lawyer,  he  was  waited  upon  by  a  lady  who  held  a 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

real-estate  claim  which  she  desired  to  have  him 
prosecute, — putting  into  his  hands,  with  the  nec- 
essary papers,  a  check  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  as  a  retaining  fee.  Mr.  Lincoln  said  he 
would  look  the  case  over,  and  asked  her  to  call 
again  the  next  day.  Upon  presenting  herself, 
Mr.  Lincoln  told  her  that  he  had  gone  through 
the  papers  very  carefully,  and  he  must  tell  her 
frankly  that  there  was  not  a  '  peg '  to  hang  her 
claim  upon,  and  he  could  not  conscientiously  ad- 
vise her  to  bring  an  action.  The  lady  was  satis- 
fied, and,  thanking  him,  rose  to  go.  '  Wait,'  said 
Mr.  Lincoln,  fumbling  in  his  vest  pocket ;  '  here 
is  the  check  you  left  with  me.'  '  But,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln,' returned  the  lady,  '  I  think  you  have  earned 
that?  '  !No,  no,'  he  responded,  handing  it  back 
to  her,  '  that  would  not  be  right.  I  can't  take 
pay  for  doing  my  duty.' " 

I  must  find  a  place  here  for  one  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's own  stories,  relating  to  a  professional  ad- 
venture, which  must  have  amused  him.  Mr.  Car- 
penter is  my  authority  here  also  : 

"  When  I  took  to  the  law  I  was  going  to  court 
one  morning,  with  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  of 


102  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

bad  road  before  me,  when overtook  me  in 

his  wagon. 

"'Hello,  Lincoln!'  said  he;  'going  to  the 
court-house  ?  Come  get  in,  and  I  will  give  you  a 
seat.' 

"  "Well,  I  got  in,  and went  on  reading 

his  papers.  Presently  the  wagon  struck  a  stump 
on  one  side  of  the  road ;  then  it  hopped  off  to  the 
other.  I  looked  out  and  saw  the  driver  was  jerk- 
ing from  side  to  side  in  his  seat ;  so  said  I,  '  Judge, 
I  think  your  coachman  has  been  taking  a  drop 
too  much  this  morning.' 

"  'Well,  I  declare,  Lincoln,'  said  he,  'I  should 
not  much  wonder  if  you  are  right,  for  he  has 
nearly  upset  me  half  a  dozen  times  since  starting.' 

"  So,  putting  his  head  out  of  the  window,  he 
shouted :  '  Why,  you  infernal  scoundrel,  you  are 
drank!' 

"  Upon  which,  pulling  up  his  horses,  and  turn- 
ing round  with  great  gravity,  the  coachman  said  : 
'  Bedad !  but  that's  the  first  rightful  decision  your 
Honor  has  given  for  the  last  twelve  months.' " 

Mr.  Lincoln's  law  partnership  with  Mr.  Stuart 
was  of  brief  duration.  It  was  dissolved  in  1840, 


ABRAHA M  LINCOLN.  } 03 

and  in  the  same  year  he  formed  a  new  partner- 
ship with  Judge  S.  T.  Logan,  a  lawyer  of  learn- 
ing and  ability. 

In  1842  he  formed  another  partnership,  of  a 
still  more  important  character.  He  married  Miss 
Mary  Todd  on  the  4th  of  November  of  that  year. 
Miss  Todd  belonged  to  a  family  of  social  promi- 
nence, and  it  is  a  matter  of  interest  that,. before 
marrying  Mr.  Lincoln,  she  is  said  to  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  marrying  another  person,  whose 
name  was  mentioned  for  the  Presidency  years  be- 
fore Mr.  Lincoln's.  I  refer  to  Hon.  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  who  is  said  to  have  been  an  unsuccessful 
suitor  for  the  hand  of  Miss  Todd. 

Six  months  after  marriage,  in  a  private  letter 
written  to  an  intimate  friend,  Mr.  Lincoln  refers 
thus  to  his  domestic  arrangements  :  "  We  are  not 
keeping  house," -he  writes,  "but  boarding  at  the 
Globe  Tavern,  which  is  very  well  kept  by  a  widow 
lady  of  the  name  of  Beck.  Our  rooms  are  the 
same  Dr.  Wallace  occupied  there,  and  boarding 
only  costs  four  dollars  a  week." 

Abraham  Lincoln  had  reached  the  age  of  thir- 
ty-three years  before  he  ventured  to  marry.  Cir- 
cumstances had  until  then  proved  unfavorable,  for 


104  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

his  struggle  with  poverty  had  been  unusually  pro- 
tracted. Now,  however,  he  was  settled  both  mat- 
rimonially and  professionally,  and  the  most  im- 
portant part  of  his  life,  for  which  he  had  been  so 
long  preparing,  may  be  said  to  have  fairly  begun. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   LAWYER,   IN   HIS   OFFICE   AND   AT   HOME. 

I  HAVE  already  told  my  readers  something  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  as  a  lawyer.  I  may  add  that  he 
stood  high  in  the  estimation  of  his  professional 
brethren.  "  For  my  single  self,"  says  one,  "  I 
have  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  regarded  Mr. 
Lincoln  as  one  of  the  finest  lawyers  I  ever  knew, 
and  of  a  professional  bearing  so  high-toned  and 
honorable  as  justly,  and  without  derogating  from 
the  claims  of  others,  entitling  him  to  be  presented 
to  the  profession  as  a  model  well  worthy  of  the 
closest  imitation." 

Now  these  are  general  terms,  and  do  not  show 
us  how  the  young  lawyer  who  had  risen  step  by 
step  from  the  hardest  physical  labor  to  an  honor- 
able position  at  the  bar,  looked  and  spoke.  For- 
tunately Judge  Drummond,  of  Chicago,  gives  us 

(.05) 


106  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

a  graphic  picture  of   him, — and   I  am  glad  to 
^note  it : 

"  With  a  voice  by  110  means  pleasant,  and,  in- 
deed, when  excited,  in. its  shrill  tones  almost  dis- 
. agreeable;  without  any  of  the  personal  graces  of 
the  orator;  without  much  in  the  outward  man 
indicating  superiority  of  intellect ;  without  great 
quickness  of  perception — still,  his  mind  was  so 
vigorous,  his  comprehension  so  exact  and  clear, 
and  his  judgment  so  sure,  that  he  easily  mastered 
the  intricacies  of  his  profession,  and  became  one 
of  the  ablest  reasoners  and  most  impressive 
speakers  at  our  bar.  With  a  probity  of  character 
known  of  all,  with  an  intuitive  insight  into  the 
human  heart,  with  a  clearness  of  statement  which 
was  itself  an  argument,  with  uncommon  power 
and  felicity  of  illustration, — often,  it  is  true,  of  a 
plain  and  homely  kind — and  with  that  sincerity 
and  earnestness  of  manner  which  carried  convic- 
tion, he  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  successful 
jury  lawyers  we  have  ever  had  in  the  State.  He 
always  tried  a  case  fairly  and  honestly.  He  never 
intentionally  misrepresented  the  evidence  of  a 
witness  or  the  argument  of  an  opponent.  He 
met  both  squarely,  and  if  he  could  not  explain  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

one  or  answer  the  other,  substantially  admitted 
it.  He  never  misstated  the  law  according  to  his 
own  intelligent  view  of  it." 

I  hope  my  young  readers  will  not  skip  this  state- 
ment, but  read  it  carefully,  because  it  will  show 
them  the  secret  of  the  young  lawyer's  success. 
He  inspired  confidence  !  He  was  not  constantly 
trying  to  gain  the  advantage  by  fair  means  if  pos- 
sible, but  at  any  rate  to  gain  it.  He  wanted  jus- 
tice to  triumph,  however  it  affected  his  own  inter- 
ests. I  wish  there  were  more  such  lawyers.  The 
law  would  then  lose  much  of  the  odium  which 
unprincipled  practitioners  bring  upon  it. 

Let  us  look  in  upon  Mr.  Lincoln  as  he  sits  in 
his  plain  office,  some  morning.  He  is  writing 
busily,  when  a  timid  knock  is  heard  at  his  door. 

"  Come  in ! "  he  says,  his  pen  still  moving 
rapidly  over  the  paper  before  him. 

The  door  opens  slowly,  and  an  old  woman, 
bending  under  the  burden  of  seventy-five  year?, 
enters,  and  stands  irresolutely  at  the  entrance. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  ! "  she  says  in  a  quivering  voice. 

As  these  accents  reach  him,  Mr.  Lincoln  woke 
up  hastily,  and  seeing  the  old  lady  hastily  un- 
doubles  himself,  and  draws  forward  a  chair. 


108  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  Sit  down,  mj  good  lady ! "  he  says.  "  Do 
you  wish  to  see  me  on  business?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Tell  me  what  I  can  do  for  you  ? "  and  he 
fixes  his  eyes  on  the  frail  old  woman,  showing  a 
respect  and  consideration  for  her,  poor  as  she 
evidently  is,  which  a  rich  client  might  not  so 
readily  receive. 

Encouraged  by  the  kindness  of  her  reception 
she  told  her  story.  She  was  entitled  to  a  pension, 
as  it  appeared,  on  account  of  her  husband,  who 
had  fought  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  This  pen- 
sion she  had  secured  through  the  agency  of  a 
certain  pension  agent,  but  he  had  charged  her  the 
exorbitant  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  for  col- 
lecting her  claim.  This  was  a  heavy  tax  upon  the 
poor  old  woman  with  her  limited  means,  and  she 
was  likely  to  be  little  better  off  for  her  pension 
if  she  should  be  compelled  to  pay  this  money. 

"  Two  hundred  dollars !  That  is  shameful ! " 
said  the  sympathetic  lawyer.  "  Who  is  this 
agent  ? " 

She  told  him. 

"  Do  you  live  in  Springfield  ? " 

"  No  sir." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  1Q9 

"Are  you  in  need  of  money?"  he  inquired 
delicately. 

"  Yes,  sir.  The  agent  has  kept  back  what  he 
has  collected,  and  " 

"  I  see.     We  will  try  to  bring  him  to  terms." 

"  Oh,  sir  if  you  can  help  me "  said  the  old 

lady,  hopefully. 

"  I  will  do  my  best.  Here  is  some  money  for 
your  immediate  wants.  Now  I  will  ask  you  a 
few  questions,  and  we  will  see  what  we  can  do 
for  you." 

Mr.  Lincoln  immediately  commenced  suit 
against  the  agent  to  recover  a  portion  of  the 
money  which  he  had  withheld.  In  his  address 
to  the  jury  he  did  not  omit  to  allude  to  the  pa- 
triotism of  the  dead  husband,  and  the  poverty  of 
his  widow,  and  no  doubt  castigated  in  fitting 
terms  the  unfeeling  rapacity  of  the  claim  agent. 
He  gained  the  suit,  and  compelled  the  fellow  to 
disgorge  one  hundred  dollars,  which  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  paying  over  to  his  aged  client. 

Meanwhile  he  was  pleasantly  situated.  His 
income  would  now  allow  him  to  live  in  comfort- 
able style.  He  established  himself  in  a  pleasant 
two-story  house,  built  after  a  fashion  quite  com- 


BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

mon  in  New  England,  with  a  room  on  each  side 
of  the  front  door,  and  an  extension  in  the  rear. 
It  was  situated  at  the  corner  of  two  streets,  and 
though  neither  costly  nor  sumptuous,  might  be 
considered  a  palace  when  contrasted  with  the 
rude  cabins  in  which  his  earlier  years  were  passed. 
Four  children  were  born  to  him,  and  their 
childish  ways  were  a  source  of  constant  enjoy- 
ment, when  he  returned  to  his  home,  weaiy  or 
perplexed.  One  of  these,  Willie,  died  after  his 
father  became  President ;  the  youngest,  best 
known  as  Tad,  who  was  the  pet  of  the  White 
House,  is  also  dead,  and  only  the  eldest,  Robert 
Todd,  now  Secretary  of  War,  survives.  It  is 
said  that  he  was  a  most  indulgent  father,  and 
governed  by  Love  alone.  His  own  father  had 
often  been  stern  and  rough,  but  Abraham  Lin- 
coln's nature  was  full  of  a  deep  tenderness  for 
?all  things  weak,  small,  or  in  distress,  and  he  could 
not  find  it  in  his  heart  to  be  harsh  or  stern  at 
home. 

On  pleasant  summer  mornings  the  young  law- 
yer, with  his  tall  figure,  might  have  been  seen 
drawing  one  of  his  children  to  and  fro  along  the 
sidewalk  in  a  child's  w;i":on.  "  Without  hat  or 


A  BRA  HAM  LINCOLN, 

coat,  and  wearing  a  pair  of  rough  shoes,  his  hands 
behind  him  holding  to  the  tongue  of  the  wagon, 
and  his  tall  form  bent  forward  to  accommodate 
himself  to  the  service,  he  paced  up  and  down  the 
walk,  forgetful  of  everything  around  him,  and 
intent  only  on  some  subject  that  absorbed  his 
mind."  A  young  man,  who  as  a  boy  used  to  see 
him  thus  occupied,  admits  that  he  used  to  wonder 
"  how  so  rough  and  plain  a  man  could  live  in  so 
respectable  a  house." 

I  once  asked  a  lady  who  for  a  considerable 
time  lived  opposite  Mr.  Lincoln,  at  Springfield, 
whether  he  was  really  as  plain  as  his  pictures  all 
represented  him. 

"  I  never  saw  one  of  his  pictures  that  did  not 
flatter  him,"  she  answered. 

"  My  oldest  son  was  a  companion  and  playfel- 
low of  Mr.  Lincoln's  younger  boys,"  she  contin- 
ued, "  and  was  in  and  out  of  his  house  a  dozen 
times  a  day.  He  was  a  very  quiet  man.  He 
used  to  stay  at  home  in  the  evening,  and  read  or 
meditate,  but  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  of  a  gayer  tem- 
perament, and  cared  more  for  company." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  always  a  thoughtful  man,  and 
though  amid  social  surroundings  he  could  tell  a 


112  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

droll  story  with  a  humorous  twinkle  of  the  eye, 
his  features  in  repose  were  grave  and  even  melan- 
choly. As  he  walked  along  the  street,  he  often 
seemed  abstracted,  and  would  pass  his  best  friends 
without  recognizing  them.  Even  at  the  table  he 
was  often  self-absorbed,  and  ate  his  food  mechan- 
ically, but  there  was  nothing  in  his  silence  to  dull 
or  make  uncomfortable  those  around  him.  After 
a  time  he  would  arise  from  his  silence,  and  make 
himself  companionable  as  he  was  always  able  to 
do,  and  lead  conversation  into  some  channel  in 
which  members  of  his  family  could  take  part. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   KAIL-SPLITTER   ENTERS    CONGRESS. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  professional  success  did 
not  iill  the  measure  of  his  ambition.  It  certainly 
was  a  great  step  upward  from  the  raw-boned, 
ragged,  barefooted  lad  to  the  prosperous  lawyer, 
and  our  hero,  if  I  may  so  call  him,  doubtless  felt 
complacent  when  he  considered  the  change  in  his 
position  and  surroundings.  I  may  take  occasion 
to  say  here  that  Abe — to  return  to  the  name  which 
he  did  not  wholly  lay  aside  when  he  emerged 
from  boyhood  and  youth — never  put  on  airs  be- 
cause of  his  elevation,  nor  looked  down  upon  the 
humble  relatives  whom  he  had  left  behind. 
Whenever  in  his  journeyings  he  found  himself 
near  the  residence  of  any  of  his  poorer  relations, 
he  took  special  pains  to  visit  them,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, to  stay  with  them.  Often  he  pressed  upon 

them  money  when  they  appeared  to  need  it — not 
8  (113) 


H4:  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

with  the  air  of  a  liberal  patron,  but  with  straight- 
forward friendliness  and  cordiality.  Once  when 
he  was  urged  to  remain  at  the  hotel  with  his  pro- 
fessional friends,  instead  of  making  a  call  upon 
an  aged  aunt,  he  said  : 

"Why,  aunt's  heart  would  be  broken  if  I 
should  leave  town  without  calling  upon  her." 

Let  me  add  that  this  call  required  something 
more  than  ordinary  good-natured  consideration, 
for  the  aunt  in  question  lived  several  miles  away, 
and  her  nephew  had  no  horse  at  his  command, 
but  walked  all  the  way.  I  am  very  glad  to  call 
the  attention  of  all  my  yonng  friends  to  this  ad- 
mirable trait  in  the  character  of  President  Lin- 
coln. I  wish  it  were  more  common.  I  am  sure 
wre  all  admire  the  boy  or  girl  who  is  always 
thoughtful  of  the  feelings  and  happiness  of  older 
relatives. 

But  to  return  from  this  digression,  let  me  re- 
peat that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  other  aspirations  than 
to  succeed  as  a  lawyer.  It  has  been  said  that  nine 
out  of  ten  American  boys  cherish  a  vague  ambi- 
tion to  become  President.  This  is  plainly  an  ex- 
aggeration, but  it  is  certain  that  a  large  number 
entertain  the  hope  of  some  day  entering  public 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

life,  either  as  legislator  or  Congressman,  or  at  any 
rate  as  a  salaried  officer.  That  is  one  reason  wh}'' 
there  is  such  a  horde  of  office-seekers  swarming 
to  our  National  or  State  capitals,  ambitious  to 
earn  a  living  at  the  expense  of  the  Government. 
Some  throw  up  good  mercantile  positions  and 
spend  months  in  the  attempt  to  secure  a  position 
as  department  clerk,  foreign  consul,  or  poorly- 
paid  postmaster. 

Abraham  Lincoln's  ambition  was  of  a  more 
elevated  character.  He  had  a  pardonable  ambi- 
tion to  take  part  in  the  government  of  his  coun- 
try, not  for  the  sake  of  the  position  so  much,  as 
because  he  felt  within  himself  the  capacity  to 
shape  legislation  to  worthy  ends.  He  was  not 
alone  in  this  idea.  His  fellow-citizens  had  gauged 
him  and  felt  that  he  was  lit  to  represent  them.  I 
have  already  spoken  of  his  service  in  the  Stato 
Legislature ;  but  he  was  only  preparing  himself 
there  for  a  wider  arena.  In  1846  he  received  the 
nomination  for  Congress  from  the  Sangamon  dis- 
trict. ISTow  it  was  not  the  fashion  in  those  days 
for  a  candidate  to  remain  quietly  at  home  pursu- 
ing his  business  as  usual  while  waiting  for  the 
popular  verdict.  It  is  perhaps  the  more  dignified 


11(3  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

course  to  pursue,  but  it  would  not  have  elected 
Mr.  Lincoln.  He  understood  at  once  that  he 
would  have  to  "  stump  "  the  district.  I  need 
hardly  explain  to  my  young  readers  what  this 
means.  He  must  visit  the  principal  towns  and 
villages,  and  address  public  meetings  of  the  peo- 
ple on  political  subjects  of  present  interest,  ex- 
plaining clearly  how  he  stood,  and  how  he  pro- 
posed to  vote  if  elected. 

For  this  service  Lincoln  was  very  well  fitted. 
He  had  a  vigorous  Saxon  style,  and  he  knew  how 
to  make  things  clear  even  to  the  humblest  intel- 
lect. Then,  again,  he  possessed  a  fund  of  homely, 
but  pertinent  stories,  which  often  produced  more 
effect  than  a  protracted  argument.  Howe\7er,  he 
was  not  limited  to  such  means  of  influencing  his 
audiences.  He  had  a  logical  mind  and  a  happy 
faculty  of  stating  things  clearly  and  precisely,  so 
as  to  convince  the  reason  as  well  as  to  persuade 
the  judgment. 

There  was  no  lack  of  topics  on  wThich  to  speak. 
The  country  was  in  an  excited  state.  Texas  had 
been  admitted  to  the  Union,  war  with  Mexico 
had  succeeded,  and  opinions  were  divided  as  to 
the  wisdom  of  entering  upon  it.  The  Whig  party, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  member,  considered 
it  unnecessary  and  unjustifiable.  So  also  did 
the  Anti-Slavery  party,  then  coming  into  exist- 
ence. Many  of  my  young  readers  have  doubtless 
read  .the  "  Biglow  Papers,"  by  our  eminent  poet 
and  diplomatist,  James  .Russell  Lowell,  and  have 
enjoyed  the  quaint  and  pungent  sarcasm  with 
which  he  assails  those  who  were  instrumental  in 
bringing  on  this  ill-advised  war.  I  speak  of  it  'as 
ill-advised,  for,  though  some  of  the  results,  no- 
tably the  acquisition  of  California,  have  proved 
beneficial,  the  object  for  which  the  war  was  com- 
menced and  waged  was  far  from  commendable. 
The  tariff  also  had  been  recently  repealed,  and 
the  result  was  a  disturbance  of  the  business  inter- 
ests of  the  country.  Clearly,  Congress  and  the 
country  had  plenty  to  talk  about  and  plenty  to 
legislate  about. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  speeches  in  this  "stumping" 
tour  have  not  been  preserved,  but  we  have  every 
reason  to  believe  that  he  did  himself  credit,  and 
maintained  the  reputation  he  had  already  ac- 
quired as  a  strong  and  forcible  speaker.  The 
best  evidence  we  can  adduce  is  his  triumphant 
election  by  much  more  than  the  usual  party  vote. 


BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Even  Mr.  Clay,  with  all  his  popularity  as  a  Presi- 
dential candidate  in  1844,  received  a  majority  less 
by  about  six  hundred  than  were  given  to  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  in  his  contest  for  a  seat  in  Congress. 
So  we  chronicle  one  more  step  in  the  upward 
progress  of  the  young  rail-splitter.  On  the  6th 
of  December,  1847,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Thir- 
tieth Congress,  as  a  Representative  from  his 
adopted  State  of  Illinois.  At  the  same  time  his 
future  rival,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  took  his  seat  in 
the  United  States  Senate,  representing  the  same 
State.  Lincoln  was  the  tallest  man  among  the 
nearly  three  hundred  who  sat  in  the  House. 
Douglas  was  the  shortest  man  in  the  Senate. 
Both  were  to  achieve  high  distinction,  and  to  fill 
a  remarkable  place  in  the  history  of  their  coun- 
try. To  Lincoln  distinction  came  with  slower 
steps,  but  he  was  destined  to  mount  higher  and 
achieve  a  more  enduring  fame.  Of  the  two, 
Douglas  was  more  of  a  politician,  and  he  was 
more  ready  to  sacrifice  principle  in  the  interest  of 
personal  ambition.  Years  later  they  were  to 
stump  the  State  as  competitors  for  Senatorial 
honors  in  a  memorable  canvass,  and  still  later  to 
be  rival  candidates  for  the  Presidency.  In  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

first,  Douglas  secured  the  election  ;  in  the  second, 
Lincoln.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  Douglas  that  when 
the  last  contest  was  decided,  and  his  competitor, 
who  had  secured  the  prize  for  which  he  had  la- 
bored earnestly  for  years,  was  about  to  take  his 
seat,  at  a  time  when  the  first  faint  rumblings  of 
the  Civil  War  were  being  heard,  and  well- 
grounded  fears  were  entertained  for  the  safety 
of  the  President-elect,  he  laid  aside  all  the  bitter- 
ness of  personal  feelings  and  disappointed  ambi- 
tion, and  rode  with  his  old  rival  to  the  capital  on 
Inauguration  Day,  content  to  share  any  personal 
risk  in  which  he  might  be  placed. 

The  closing  period  of  the  life  of  Douglas  does 
him  great  credit.  It  shows  him  in  the  character 
of  patriot,  rather  than  as  politician.  In  former 
years  he  had  been  willing  to  make  concessions  to 
the  slave  power,  in  order  to  further  his  own 
chances  of  the  Presidential  succession.  Now, 
when  civil  war  was  imminent  and  the  integrity 
of  the  Government  was  menaced,  he  forgot  the 
politician  and  stood  side  by  side  with  Lincoln  for 
the  preservation  of  the  Government  which  he  had 
so  long  served.  It  was  a  source  of  sincere  regret 
to  Abraham  Lincoln  that  Douglas  should  have 


120  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

been  removed^by  death  so  early  in  the  Civil  War. 
It  removed  from  him  a  staunch  friend  and  sup- 
porter, whose  influence  was  all  the  greater  be- 
cause he  was  perhaps  the  most  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  opposition. 

I  have  a  personal  remembrance  of  Mr.  Doug- 
las, to  whom  I  was  introduced  on  the  occasion  of 
a  visit  to  Massachusetts.  Short  as  he  was,  he  had 
a  dignified  and  impressive  presence,  and  his  mas- 
sive figure  well  entitled  him  to  the  name  by  which 
he  was  so  commonly  known,  "  The  Little  Giant." 
He  was  not  destined  to  achieve  the  object  of  his 
ambition,  but  he  will  long  be  remembered  as  an 
influential  actor  in  our  political  history. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

THE   FIKST   SPEECH   IN   CONGRESS. 

THE  backwoods-boy  is  now  in  Congress.  He 
is  one  of  the  law-makers  of  the  nation,  and  is  an 
equal  associate  of  eminent  statesmen  gathered 
from  all  parts  of  the  country. 

Let  us  look  about  us  as  we  enter  the  old  Hall 
of  Representative?,  and  see  into  what  company 
the  backwoods-boy  has  come. 

In  the  Speaker's  chair  sits  a  dignified-looking 
man,  an  accomplished  parliamentarian,  whom 
friends  and  opponents  alike  concede  to  be  amply 
competent  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  high 
place — this  is  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  of  Massachu- 
setts, living  still  in  a  dignified  and  honored  old 
age.  Among  the  notable  members  of  this  Con- 
gress were  John  Quincy  Adams,  who  had  already 
been  President,  but  who  was  willing  notwith- 
standing to  serve  his  country  in  an  humble 

(121) 


122  EOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

place;  George  Ashmun,  also  representing  Mas- 
sachusetts ;  Jacob  Collamer ;  Alexander  H.  Ste- 
phens, afterward  Yice-President  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy ;  Robert  Toombs ;  Andrew  Johnson, 
afterward  associated  with  Mr.  Lincoln  as  Yice-Pres- 
ident, and  upon  whose  shoulders  fell  the  mantle  of 
his  lamented  chief ;  Marsh,  Truman  Smith,  Wil- 
mot,  Bhett,  Giddings,  and  others,  whose  names 
were  already  conspicuous.  This  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  personnel  of  the  House  ;  while  in  the 
Senate  chamber,  at  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol, 
Websier,  Calhoun,  Dix,  Dickinson,  Hale,  Critten- 
den,  and  Corwin  lent  weight  and  dignity  to  that 
co-ordinate  legislative  branch  of  the  Government. 

Such  were  the  men  with  whom  the  young  West- 
ern member  was  to  share  the  labors  of  legislation. 
Time  has  given  to  some  of  them  a  fame  which 
they  did  not  then  possess.  Their  successors  of 
our  day  may,  after  the  lapse  of  a  generation,  bei£ 
names  as  weighty ;  but  I  am  afraid  we  shall  look 
in  vain  for  successors  of  Webster,  Calhoun,  John 
Quincy  Adams,  A.  H.  Stephens,  and  Crittenden. 

The  question  will  occur  to  my  young  readers, 
What  part  did  Abraham  Lincoln  take  in  the 
national  councils  ?  Was  he  a  cipher,  an  obscure 


ABRA  HAM  LINCOLN.  J  23 

member,  simply  filling  his  seat  and  drawing  his 
pay,  or  did  he  take  an  active  part  in  the  business 
of  the  session  ?  I  will  say  in  answer,  that  he  was 
by  no  means  a  cipher.  Though  he  did  not  aspire 
to  be  a  leader — for  in  a  new  member  that  would 
have  been  in  bad  taste — he  was  always  ready  to 
take  part  when  he  felt  called  upon  to  do  so,  and 
his  vote  and  words  were  such  as  he  would  not 
in  after  years  have  felt  it  necessary  to  recall  or 
apologize  for. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  he  arrayed  him- 
self with  Mr.  Giddings  in  favor  of  abolishing 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Mr.  Gid- 
dings little  suspected  that  the  plain  member 
from  Illinois,  whose  co-operation  he  had  secured, 
was  to  be  the  instrument  under  Providence  of 
abolishing  slavery,  not  only  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  but  throughout  the  land. 

But  slavery  was  not  at  that  time  the  leading 
political  question  of  the  day.  Parties  were 
divided  upon  the  subject  of  the  Mexican  war. 
While  opposed  to  the  war,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in 
favor  of  voting  for  the  necessary  supplies  and 
appropriations,  and  he  took  care,  in  an  elaborate 
speech,  to  explain  his  position.  He  felt  that  it 


124:  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

was  his  duty  as  a  citizen  and  a  patriot  to  see  that 
the  army  which  had  been  sent  to  Mexico  should 
be  properly  sustained  ;  but  he  did  not  for  a  mo- 
ment concede  that  the  war  was  just  or  necessary. 
As  President  Polk  saw  fit  to  construe  such  a  vote 
as  a  formal  approval  of  his  action  and  of  the 
war,  Mr.  Lincoln  made  an  elaborate  speech  in 
arraignment  of  his  interpretation.  As  this  was 
Mr.  Lincoln's  first  speech  in  Congress,  I  shall 
make  considerable  quotations  from  it,  partly  to 
show  where  he  stood  on  this  important  question, 
arid  partly  to  prove  to  my  readers  that  he  was  no 
novice,  but  well  qualified  for  the  high  position  to 
which  he  had  been  elected  by  the  suffrages  of  his 
fellow-citizens.  I  am  quite  aware  that  many  of 
my  young  readers  will  skip  this  portion  as  unin- 
teresting; but  I  hope  that  if  in  after  years  they 
are  led  to  read  this  biography  once  more,  they 
will  count  it  worth  while  to  read  it. 

After  reviewing  and  controverting  the  reasons 
assigned  by  the  President  for  the  statement  that 
Mexico  had  invaded  our  soil,  and  that  therefore 
"  by  the  act  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico  a  state 
of  war  exists  between  that  Government  and  the 
United  States,"  Mr.  Lincoln  proceeds : 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  125 

"I  am  now  through  the  whole  of  the  Presi- 
dent's evidence ;  and  it  is  a  singular  fact,  that  if 
any  one  should  declare  the  President  sent  the 
army  into  the  midst  of  a  settlement  of  Mexican 
people  who  had  never  submitted,  by  consent  or 
by  force,  to  the  authority  of  Texas  or  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  there  and  thereby  the  first 
blood  of  the  war  was  shed,  there  is  not  one  word 
in  all  the  President  has  said  which  would  either 
admit  or  deny  the  declaration.  In  this  strange 
omission  chiefly  consists  the  deception  of  the 
President's  evidence — an  omission  which  it  does 
seem  to  me  could  scarcely  have  occurred  but  by 
design.  My  way  of  living  leads  me  to  be  about 
the  courts  of  justice ;  and  there  I  have  sometimes 
seen  a  good  lawyer  struggling  for  his  client's 
neck,  in  a  desperate  case,  employing  every  artifice 
to  work  round,  befog,  and  cover  up  with  many 
words  some  position  pressed  upon  him  by  the 
prosecution,  which  he  dared  not  admit  and  yet 
could  not  deny.  Party  bias  may  help  to  make 
it  appear  so ;  but,  with  all  the  allowance  I  can 
make  for  such  bias,  it  still  does  appear  to  me 
that  just  such,  and  from  such  necessity,  are  the 
President's  struggles  in  this  case. 


126  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  Some  time  after  my  colleague  (Mr.  Richard- 
son) introduced  the  resolutions  I  have  mentioned, 
I  introduced  a  preamble,  resolution,  and  interrog- 
atories, intended  to  draw  the  President  out,  if 
possible,  on  this  hitherto  untrodden  ground.  To 
show  their  relevancy,  I  propose  to  state  my  un- 
derstanding of  the  true  rale  for  ascertaining  the 
boundary  between  Texas  and  Mexico.  It  is  that 
wherever  Texas  was  exercising  jurisdiction  was 
hers ;  and  wherever  Mexico  was  exercising  juris- 
diction was  hers;  and  that  whatever  separated 
the  actual  exercise  of  jurisdiction  of  the  one 
from  that  of  the  other,  was  the  true  boundary 
between  them.  If,  as  is  probably  true,  Texas 
was  exercising  jurisdiction  along  the  western 
bank  of  the  Nueces,  and  Mexico  was  exercising 
it  along  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande; 
then  neither  river  was  the  boundary,  but  the 
uninhabited  country  between  the  two  was.  The 
extent  of  our  territory  in  that  region  depended 
not  on  any  treaty-fixed  boundary  (for  no  treaty 
had  attempted  it),  but  on  revolution.  Any  people 
anywhere,  being  inclined  and  having  the  power, 
have  the  right  to  rise  up  and  shake  off  the  exist- 
ing Government,  and  form  a  new  one  that  suits 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  }  3  7 

them  better.  This  is  a  most  valuable,  a  most 
sacred  right — a  right  which,  we  hope  and  believe, 
is  to  liberate  the  world.  Nor  is  this  right  con- 
fined to  cases  in  which  the  whole  people  of  an 
existing  Government  may  choose  to  exercise  it. 
Any  portion  of  such  people  that  can  may  revo- 
lutionize and  make  their  own  of  so  much  of  the 
territory  as  they  inhabit.  More  than  this,  a  ma- 
jority of  any  portion  of  such  people  may  revolu- 
tionize, putting  down  a  minority,  intermingled, 
or  near  about  them,  who  may  oppose  their  move- 
ments. Such  minority  was  precisely  the  case  of 
the  Tories  of  our  own  Revolution.  It  is  a  quality 
of  revolutions  not  to  go  by  old  lines  or  old  laws, 
but  to  break  up  both  and  make  new  ones.  As 
to  the  country  now  in  question,  we  bought  it  of 
France  in  1803  and  sold  it  to  Spain  in  1819,  ac- 
cording to  the  President's  statement.  After  this, 
all  Mexico,  including  Texas,  revolutionized  against 
Spain  ;  and  still  later,  Texas  revolutionized  against 
Mexico.  In  my  view,  just  so  far  as  she  carried 
her  revolution  by  obtaining  the  actual,  willing  or 
unwilling,  submission  of  the  people,  so  far  the 
country  was  hers  and  no  further. 

"Now,  sir,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the 


123       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

very  best  evidence  as  to  whether  Texas  had  actu- 
ally carried  her  revolution  to  the  place  where  the 
hostilities  of  the  present  war  commenced,  let  the 
President  answer  the  interrogatories  I  proposed, 
as  before  mentioned,  or  some  other  similar  ones. 
Let  him  answer  fully,  fairly,  and  candidly  ;  let 
him  answer  with  facts,  and  not  with  arguments. 
Let  him  remember  he  sits  where  Washington  sat ; 
and,  so  remembering,  let  him  answer  as  Wash- 
ington would  answer.  As  a  nation  should  not, 
and  the  Almighty  will  not  be  evaded,  so  let  him 
attempt  no  evasion,  no  equivocation ;  and  if,  so 
answering,  he  can  show  that  the  soil  was  ours 
where  the  first  blood  of  the  war  was  shed — that 
it  was  not  within  an  inhabited  country,  or,  if 
within  such,  that  the  inhabitants  had  submitted 
themselves  to  the  civil  authority  of  Texas  or  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  the  same  is  true  of  the 
site  of  Fort  Brown — then  I  am  with  him  for  his 
justification.  In  that  case,  I  shall  be  most  happy 
to  reverse  the  vote  I  gave  the  other  day.  I  have 
a  selfish  notion  for  desiring  that  the  President 
may  do  this;  I  expect  to  give  some  votes  in  con- 
nection with  the  war,  which,  without  his  so  do- 
ing, will  be  of  doubtful  propriety,  in  my  own 


ABRAIIAM  LINCOLN.  129 

judgment,  but  which  will  be  free  from  the  doubt, 
if  he  does  so. 

"  But  if  he  can  not  or  will  not  do  this — if  on 
any  pretense,  or  no  pretense,  he  shall  refuse  or 
omit  it — then  I  shall  be  fully  convinced  of  what 
I  more  than  suspect  already,  that  he  is  deeply 
conscious  of  being  in  the  wrong ;  that  he  feels 
the  blood  of  this  war,  like  the  blood  of  Abel,  is 
crying  to  heaven  against  him ;  that  he  ordered 
General  Taylor  into  the  midst  of  a  peaceful  Mexi- 
can settlement,  purposely  to  bring  on  war ;  that 
originally  having  some  strong  motive  —  what  I 
will  not  stop  now  to  give  my  opinion  concern- 
ing— to  involve  the  two  countries  in  a  war,  and 
trusting  to  escape  scrutiny  by  fixing  the  public 
gaze  upon  the  exceeding  brightness  of  military 
glory  —  that  attractive  rainbow  that  rises  in 
showers  of  blood — that  serpent's  eye  that  charms 
to  destroy — he  plunged  into  it,  and  has  swept  on 
and  on,  till,  disappointed  in  his  calculation  of  the 
case  with  which  Mexico  might  be  subdued,  he 
now  finds  himself  he  knows  not  where.  How 
like  the  half-insane  mumbling  of  a  fever  dream 
is  the  whole  war  part  of  the  last  message !  At 
one  time  telling  us  that  Mexico  has  nothing  what- 
9 


130       BOYH90D  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

ever  that  we  can  get  but  territory ;  at  another, 
showing  us  how  we  can  support  the  war  by  levy- 
ing contributions  on  Mexico ;  at  one  time  urging 
the  national  honor,  the. security  of  the  future,  the 
prevention  of  foreign  interference,  and  even  the 
good  of  Mexico  herself,  as  among  the  objects  of 
the  war ;  at  another,  telling  us  that  *  to  reject  in- 
demnity by  refusing  to  accept  a  cession  of  terri- 
tory would  be  to  abandon  all  our  just  demands, 
and  to  wage  the  war,  bearing  all  its  expenses, 
without  a,  purpose  or  definite  object? 

"  So  then,  the  national  honor,  security  of  the 
future,  and  everything  but  territorial  indemnity, 
may  be  considered  no  purposes  and  indefinite  ob- 
jects of  the  war !  But  having  it  now  settled  that 
territorial  indemnity  is  the  only  object,  we  are 
urged  to  seize,  by  legislation  here,  all  that  he  was 
content  to  take  a  few  months  ago,  and  the  whole 
province  of  Lower  California  to  boot,  and  to  still 
carry  on  the  war — to  take  all  we  are  fighting  for, 
and  still  fight  on.  Again  the  President  is  resolv- 
ed, under  all  circumstances,  to  have  full  territo- 
rial indemnity  for  the  expenses  of  the  war ;  but 
he  forgets  to  tell  us  how  we  are  to  get  the  excess 
after  those  expenses  s*hall  have  surpassed  the  value 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  the  whole  of  the  Mexican  territory.  So,  again, 
he  insists  that  the  separate  national  existence  of 
Mexico  shall  be  maintained  ;  but  he  does  not  tell 
us  how  this  can  be  done  after  we  shall  have  taken 
all  her  territory.  Lest  the  questions  I  here  sug- 
gest be  considered  speculative  merely,  let  me  be 
indulged  a  moment  in  trying  to  show  they  are 
not. 

"  The  war  has  gone  on  some  twenty  months, 
for  the  expenses  of  which,  together  with  an  in- 
considerable old  score,  the  President  now  claims 
about  one-half  of  the  Mexican  territory,  and  that 
by  far  the  better  half,  so  far  as  concerns  our 
ability  to  make  anything  out  of  it.  It  is  com- 
paratively uninhabited,  so  that  we  could  establish 
land  offices  in  it,  and  raise  money  in  that  way. 
But  the  other  half  is  already  inhabited,  as  I  un- 
derstand it,  tolerably  densely  for  the  nature  of 
the  country  ;  and  all  its  lands,  or  all  that  are  val- 
uable, already  appropriated  as  private  property. 
How,  then,  are  we  to  make  anything  out  of  these 
lands  with  this  incumbrance  on  them,  or  how  re- 
move the  incumbrance  ?  I  suppose  no  one  will 
say  we  should  kill  the  people,  or  drive  them  out, 
or  make  slaves  of  them,  or  even  confiscate  their 


132  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

property  ?  How,  then,  can  we  make  much  out  of 
this  part  of  the  territory  ?  If  the  prosecution  of 
the  war  has,  in  expenses,  already  equalled  the 
better  half  of  the  country,  how  long  its  future 
prosecution  will  be  in  equalling  the  less  valuable 
half  is  not  a  speculative  but  a  practical  question, 
pressing  closely  upon  us,  and  yet  it  is  a  question 
which  the  President  seems  never  to  have  thought 
of. 

"  As  to  the  mode  of  terminating  the  war  and 
securing  peace,  the  President  is  equally  wandering 
and  indefinite.  First,  it  is  to  be  done  by  a  more 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  in  the  vital  parts 
of  the  enemy's  country;  and,  after  apparently 
talking  himself  tired  on  this  point,  the  President 
drops  down  into  a  half-despairing  tone,  and  tells 
us  '  that,  with  a  people  distracted  and  divided  by 
contending  factions,  and  a  government  subject  to 
constant  changes,  by  successive  revolutions,  the 
continued  success  of  our  arms  may  fail  to  obtain 
a  satisfactory  peace?  Then  he  suggests  the  pro- 
priety of  wheedling  the  Mexican  people  to  desert 
the  counsels  of  their  own  leaders,  and,  trusting  in 
our  protection,  to  set  up  a  government  from  which 
we  can  obtain  a  satisfactory  peace,  telling  us  that 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  133 

f  this  may  become  the  only  mode  of  obtaining  such 
a  peace?  But  soon  lie  falls  into  doubt  of  this 
too,  and  then  drops  back  on  to  the  already  aban- 
doned ground  of  'more  vigorous  prosecution.' 
All  this  shows  that  the  President  is  in  no  wise 
satisfied  with  his  own  positions.  First,  he  takes 
up  one,  and,  in  attempting  to  argue  us  into  it,  he 
argues  himself  out  of  it ;  then  seizes  another,  and 
goes  through  the  same  process ;  and  then,  con- 
fused at  being  able  to  think  of  nothing  new,  he 
snatches  up  the  old  one  again,  which  he  has  some 
time  before  cast  off.  His  mind,  tasked  beyond 
its  power,  is  running  hither  and  thither,  like  some 
tortured  creature  on  a  burning  surface,  finding  no 
position  on  which  it  can  settle  down  and  be  at 
ease. 

"  Again,  it  a  singular  omission  in  the  message, 
that  it  nowhere  intimates  when  the  President  ex- 
pects the  war  to  terminate.  At  its  beginning, 
General  Scott  was,  by  this  same  President,  driven 
into  disfavor,  if  not  disgrace,  for  intimating  that 
peace  could  not  be  conquered  in  less  than  three 
or  four  months.  But  now,  at  the  end  of  about 
twenty  months,  during  which  time  our  arms  have 
given  us  the  most  splendid  successes — every  de- 


134:  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

partment  and  every  part,  land  and  water,  officers 
and  privateers,  regulars  and  volunteers,  doing  all 
that  men  could  do,  and  hundreds  of  things  which 
it  had  ever  before  been  thought  that  men  could 
not  do ;  after  all  this,  this  same  President  gives 
us  a  long  message  without  showing  us  that,  as  to 
the  end,  he  has  himself  even  an  imaginary  con- 
ception. As  I  have  before  said,  he  knows  not 
where  he  is.  He  is  a  bewildered,  confounded, 
and  miserably  perplexed  man.  God  grant  he  may 
be  able  to  show  that  there  is  not  something  about 
his  conscience  more  painful  than  all  his  mental 
perplexity?" 

It  will  be  seen  that,  new  as  he  is  to  the  halls  of 
Congress,  Mr.  Lincoln  speaks  with  the  freedom, 
and  in  the  assured  tone,  of  a  veteran  member.  I 
have  nothing  to  say  as  to  the  sentiments  contained 
in  these  extracts.  I  wished  my  readers  to  see 
what  sort  of  a  speech  the  Illinois  Congressman, 
trained  in  the  backwoods,  and  almost  absolutely 
without  educational  advantages,  was  able  to  make. 
It  will  be  conceded  that  the  result,  all  things  cou» 
sidered,  is  remarkable.  When,  twelve  years  later, 
he  was  nominated  for  the  post  of  Chief  Magis- 
trate, it  was  a  fashion  among  many,  in  both  po- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  135 

litical  parties,  to  speak  of  him  as  an  obscure  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  who  had  never  attracted  any  at- 
tention during  his  service  in  the  House.  This 
was  not  correct.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in 
legislation  of  all  kinds,  and  made  himself  ac- 
quainted with  whatever  subjects  came  up  for  con- 
sideration. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  fact  is  stranger  than 
fiction,  and  I  am  tempted  to  remark  that  the  new 
Congressman  who  so  boldly  criticised  President 
Polk  for  his  management  of  the  war,  was  far  from 
dreaming  that  he  himself  would  be  subject  to 
similar  attacks  when,  as  President,  the  manage- 
ment of  a  far  more  important  war  devolved  upon 
him. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ME.    LINCOLN'S    FAMILY. 

WHEN  Mr.  Lincoln's  first  Congressional  term 
expired,  he  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-elec- 
tion. He  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  that 
nominated  General  Taylor  for  the  Presidency, 
and  did  what  he  could  to  bring  about  his  election. 
He  would  have  preferred  Henry  Clay,  who  was 
unquestionably  far  more  fit  for  the  position  of 
Chief  Magistrate,  being  an  experienced  statesman, 
while  Taylor  was  only  a  rough  soldier ;  but  avail- 
ability then,  as  now,  controlled  the  choice  of  con- 
ventions, and  Clay  was  laid  aside,  failing,  like 
Webster,  to  reach  the  Presidency. 

My  young  readers  are  aware  that  President 
Taylor  died  about  a  year  after  his  inauguration, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Millard  Fillmore,  the  Yice- 
President.  Mr.  Fillmore  offered  Lincoln  the  po- 
sition of  Governor  of  Oregon,  then  a  Territory. 
(-36) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  137 

The  offer  was  considered,  and  might  have  been 
accepted  but  for  the  opposition  of  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
who  naturally  objected  to  going  so  far  from  home 
and  friends.  So,  for  the  time,  Mr.  Lincoln  re- 
tired from  politics,  though  he  by  no  means  ceased 
to  feel  an  interest  in  the  state  of  the  country.  He, 
like  other  sagacious  statesmen,  saw  that  slavery 
was  to  be  the  rock  in  the  way  of  national  har- 
mony, and  we  are  told  by  Mr.  Lamon,  that  when 
coming  home  to  Springfield  from  the  Fremont 
Court  in  company  with  Mr.  Stuart,  he  said  :  "  The 
time  will  come  when  we  must  all  be  Democrats 
or  Abolitionists.  When  that  time  comes  my  mind 
is  made  up.  The  slavery  question  can't  be  com- 
promised." 

About  this  time  his  father,  who  had  lived  to 
see  the  first  political  success  of  his  son,  was  draw- 
ing near  the  end  of  his  life.  His  latter  years  had 
been  made  comfortable  by  the  pecuniary  help 
freely  tendered  by  his  son,  who  gave,  but  not  out 
of  his  abundance.  Anxious  that  his  father  should 
have  every  comfort  which  his  case  required,  he 
wrote  the  following  letter,  which  I  quote,  because 
it  illustrates  not  only  his  solicitude  for  his  family, 
but  also  exhibits  his  faith  in  his  Maker : 


138  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  SPRINGFIELD,  January  12,  1851. 

"  DEAR  BROTHER — On  the  day  before  yesterday 
I  received  a  letter  from  Harriet,  written  at  Green- 
up.  She  says  she  has  just  returned  from  your 
house,  and  that  father  is  very  low,  and  will  hard- 
ly recover.  She  also  says  that  you  have  written 
me  two  letters,  and,  although  I  have  not  answered 
them,  it  is  not  because  I  have  forgotten  them,  or 
not  been  interested  about  them,  but  because  it  ap- 
peared to  me  I  could  write  nothing  which  could 
do  any  good.  You  already  know  that  I  desire 
that  neither  father  nor  mother  shall  be  in  want 
of  any  comfort,  either  in  health  or  sickness, while 
they  live  ;  and  I  feel  sure  you  have  not  failed  to 
use  my  name,  if  necessary,  to  procure  a  doctor  or 
anything  else  for  father  in  his  present  sickness. 
My  business  is  such  that  I  could  hardly  leave 
home  now,  if  it  were  not,  as  it  is,  that  my  own 
wife  is  sick-a-bed. 

"  I  sincerely  hope  father  may  yet  recover  his 
health ;  but,  at  all  events,  tell  him  to  remember 
to  call  upon  and  confide  in  our  great  and  good 
and  merciful  Maker,  who  will  not  turn  awaj7  from 
him  in  any  extremity.  He  notes  the  fall  of  a 
sparrow,  and  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  heads ;  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  139 

He  will  not  forget  the  dying  man  who  puts  his 
trust  in  him.  Say  to  him  that,  if  we  could  meet 
now,  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  would  not  be  more 
painful  than  pleasant,  but  that,  if  it  be  his  lot  to 
go  now,  he  will  soon  have  a  joyous  meeting  with 
loved  ones  gone  before,  and  where  the  rest  of  us, 
through  the  help  of  God,  hope  ere  long  to  join 
him. 

"  Write  me  again  when  you  receive  this. 
"  Affectionately, 

"A.  LINCOLN." 

The  money  expended  for  his  father  and  mother 
we  may  be  sure  that  Mr.  Lincoln  gave  cheerfully, 
and  I  should  have  a  very  poor  opinion  of  him  if 
it  were  otherwise ;  but  he  was  also  called  upon  to 
assist  another  member  of  the  family  who  was  far 
less  deserving.  His  step-brother,  John  Johnston, 
was  a  rolling-stone,  idle,  shiftless,  and  always 
hard  up.  I  am  going  to  quote  here  the  greater 
part  of  a  letter  written  to  this  step-brother,  be- 
cause it  contains  some  very  practical  advice,  which 
most  of  my  young  readers  will  not  need,  but  it 
may  fall  under  the  eye  of  some  one  who  will  be 
benefited  by  it.  It  appears  that  John  had  made 


140  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

application  for  a  loan  of  eighty  dollars.  Mr. 
Lincoln  writes : 

"  Your  request  for  eighty  dollars  I  do  not  think  it 
best  to  comply  with  now.  At  the  various  times  when 
1  have  helped  you  a  little,  you  have  said  to  me, '  We 
can  get  along  very  well  now ';  but  in  a  very  short 
time  I  find  you  in  the  same  difficulty  again.  Now 
this  can  only  happen  by  some  defect  in  your  con- 
duct ;  what  that  defect  is,  I  think  I  know.  You 
are  not  lazy^  and  still  you  are  an  idler.  I  doubt 
whether,  since  I  saw  you,  you  have  done  a  good 
whole  day's  work  in  any  one  day.  You  do  not 
very  much  dislike  to  work,  and  still  you  do  not 
work  much,  merely  because  it  does  not  seem  to 
you  that  you  could  get  much  for  it.  This  habit 
of  uselessly  wasting  time  is  the  whole  difficulty ; 
and  it  is  vastly  important  to  you,  and  still  more 
so  to  your  children,  that  you  should  break  the 
habit.  It  is  more  important  to  them  because 
they  have  longer  to  live,  and  can  keep  out  of  an 
idle  habit  before  they  are  in  it  easier  than  they 
can  get  out  after  they  are  in. 

"You  are  now  in  need  of  some  money;  and 
what  I  propose  is,  that  you  should  go  to  work 
'  tooth  and  nail '  for  somebody  who  will  give  you 


.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.. 

money  for  it.  Let  father  and  your  boys  take 
charge  of  things  at  home,  prepare  for  a  crop,  and 
make  the  crop,  and  you  go  to  work  for  the  best 
money,  wages,  or  in  discharge  of  any  debt  you 
owe,  that  you  can  get ;  and,  to  secure  you  a  fair 
reward  for  your  labor,  I  now  promise  you  that, 
for  every  dollar  you  will,  between  this  and  the 
first  of  next  May,  get  for  your  own  labor,  either 
in  money  or  your  own  indebtedness,  I  will  then 
give  you  one  other  dollar.  By  this,  if  you  hire  your- 
self at  ten  dollars  a  month,  from  me  you  will  get 
ten  more,  making  twenty  dollars  a  month  for  your 
work.  In  this  I  do  not  mean  you  shall  go  off  to 
St.  Louis,  or  the  lead  mines,  or  the  gold  mines  in 
California ;  but  I  mean  for  you  to  go  at  it  for  the 
best  wages  you  can  get  close  to  home,  in  Coles 
County.  Now,  if  you  will  do  this,  you  will  be 
soon  out  of  debt,  and,  what  is  better,  you  will 
have  a  habit  that  will  keep  you  from  getting  into 
debt  again.  But,  if  I  should  now  clear  you  out 
of  debt,  next  year  you  would  be  just  as  deep  in 
as  ever.  You  say  you  would  almost  give  ^your 
place  in  heaven  for  seventy  or  eighty  dollars. 
Then  you  value  your  place  in  heaven  very  cheap  ; 
for  I  am  sure  you  can,  with  the  offer  I  ma!:e,  get 


14-2  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

the  seventy  or  eighty  dollars  for  four  or  five 
months'  work.  You  say,  if  I  will  furnish  you 
the  money,  you  will  deed  me  the  land,  and,  if 
you  don't  pay  me  the  money  back,  you  will  de- 
liver possession.  Nonsense!  If  you  can't  now 
live  with  the  land,  how  will  you  then  live  with- 
out it  ?  You  have  always  been  kind  to  me,  and 
I  do  not  mean  to  be  unkind  to  you.  On  the  con- 
trary, if  you  will  but  follow  my  advice,  you  will 
find  it  worth  more  than  eighty  times  eighty  dol- 
lars to  you." 

This  was  certainly  excellent  advice,  and  the 
offer  was  a  kind  and  generous  one.  But  it  does 
not  seem  to  have  convinced  the  one  who  received 
it,  for  we  find  him  nursing  plans  of  emigration. 
Shiftless  people  are  very  apt  to  think  they  can 
earn  a  living  away  from  home  better  than  at 
home.  But  the  trouble  is  in  themselves,  not  in 
their  surroundings.  Abraham  Lincoln  finds  it 
necessary,  under  date  of  November  4,  1851,  to 
combat  this  fancy  of  his  step-brother.  1  shall 
not  apologize  for  copying  a  second  letter,  and  I 
hope  all  my  young  readers  will  carefully  read  and 
consider  it. 

"  When  I  came  into  Charleston  day  before  yes- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  14.3 

terday,  I  learned  that  you  are  anxious  to  sell  the 
land  where  you  live,  and  move  to  Missouri.  I 
have  been  thinking  of  this  ever  since,  and  can 
not  but  think  such  a  notion  is  utterly  foolish. 
What  can  you  do  in  Missouri  better  than  here  ? 
Is  the  land  any  richer?  Can  you  there,  any 
more  than  here,  raise  corn  and  wheat  and  oats 
without  work?  Will  anybody  there,  any  more 
than  here,  do  your  work  for  you  ?  If  you  intend 
to  go  to  work,  there  is  no  better  place  than  right 
where  you  are;  if  you  do  not  intend  to  go  to 
work  you  can  not  get  along  anywhere. 

"  Squirming  and  crawling  about  from  place  to 
place  can  do  no  good.  You  have  raised  no  crop 
this  year ;  and  what  you  really  want  is  to  sell  the 
land,  get  the  money,  and  spend  it.  Part  with  the 
land  you  have,  and  my  life  upon  it,  you  will  never 
after  own  a  spot  big  enough  to  bury  you  in. 
Half  you  will  get  for  the  land  you  will  spend  in 
moving  to  Missouri,  and  the  other  half  you  will 
eat  and  drink  and  wear  out,  and  no  foot  of  land 
will  be  bought.  Now,  I  feel  it  is  my  duty  to 
have  no  hand  in  such  a  piece  of  foolery.  I  feel 
that  it  is  so  even  on  your  own  account,  and  par- 
ticularly on  mother's  account.  The  eastern  forty 


144  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

acres  I  intend  to  keep  for  mother  while  she  lives; 
if  you  will  not  cultivate  it,  it  will  rent  for  enough 
to  support  her ;  at  least  it  will  rent  for  something. 
Her  dower  in  the  other  two  forties  she  can  let 
you  have,  and  no  thanks  to  me.  Now,  do  not 
misunderstand  this  letter ;  I  do  not  write  it  in 
any  unkindness — I  write  it,  in  order,  if  possible, 
to  get  you  to  face  the  truth,  which  truth  is,  you 
are  destitute  because  you  have  idled  away  all  your 
time.  Your  thousand  pretences  for  not  getting 
along  better  are  all  nonsense  :  they  deceive  nobody 
but  yourself.  Go  to  work  is  the  only  cure  in 
your  case." 

Nothing  can  be  plainer,  or  more  in  accordance 
with  common  sense  than  this  advice.  Though  it 
was  written  for  the  benefit  of  one  person  only,  I 
feel  that  I  am  doing  my  young,  and  possibly  some 
older,  readers  a  service  in  transferring  it  to  my 
pages,  and  commending  them  to  heed  it.  In  my 
own  experience,  which  is  by  no  means  exception- 
al, I  have  known  many  who  have  been  willing  to 
move  anywhere,  and  make  any  change,  for  the 
chance  of  earning  a  living  more  easily.  About 
thirty  years  ago,  a  great  wave  of  emigration 
flowed  toward  the  far  Pacific,  and  men  of  all  call- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  145 

ings  and  professions,  including  not  a  few  college 
graduates,  put  on  the  miner's  humble  garb  and 
del  ved  for  gold  among  the  mountains  and  by  the 
river-courses  of  California.  Some  came  back 
rich,  but  in  many -cases  had  they  been  willing  to 
work  as  hard  and  live  as  frugally  at  the  East,  they 
would  have  fared  as  well.  In  this  case,  perhaps, 
it  was  as  well  to  remove  where  the  incentives  to 
work  overcame  their  natural  indolence,  and  awak- 
ened their  ambition. 

Jn  this  country,  fortunately,  there  are  few 
places  where  an  industrious  man  can  not  get  a 
living,  if  he  is  willing  to  accept  such  work  as 
falls  in  his  way.  This  willingness  often  turns  the 
scale,  and  converts  threatening  ruin  into  prosper- 
ity and  success.  Some  years  since,  I  made  one 
of  the  passengers  in  a  small  steamer  on  Puget 
Sound.  My  attention  was  drawn  to  a  young  man, 
apparently  about  twenty,  who  was  accompanied 
by  his  wife  and  two  young  children.  They  were 
emigrating  from  Indiana,  I  believe.  He  was  evi- 
dently an  industrious  man,  and  his  brown  face 
and  hands  spoke  of  labor  in  the  field,  and  under 
the  summer  sun.  I  entered  into  conversation, 

and  my  new  acquaintance  told  me  with  perfect 
10 


146  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

cheerfulness  that  when  he  arrived  at  Seattle,  he 
would  have  just  ten  dollars  left,  to  keep  himself 
and  family  till  he  could  secure  work. 

"  How  should  I  feel,"  I  could  not  help  asking 
myself,  "if  I  were  placed  in  similar  circumstances, 
though  I  had  myself  only  to  provide  for  ? " 

Yet  the  young  man  appeared  quite  undisturbed. 
He  had  faith  in  himself,  and  in  Providence,  and 
borrowed  no  trouble.  I  have  no  doubt  he  found 
something  to  do  before  his  money  gave  out.  He 
was  not  one  of  that  shiftless  and  restless  class  to 
whom  it  is  very  clear  Mr.  Lincoln's  step-brother 
belonged.  Such  men  thrive  in  a  new  country,  and 
make  a  living  anywhere. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE   SENATORIAL    CAMPAIGN. 

ME.  LINCOLN  had  served  a  term  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  with  credit  to  himself  and 
profit  to  the  country.  He  was  regarded  as  a  ris- 
ing man,  and  every  year  made  him  more  promi- 
nent. It  is  not  strange  that  his  ambition  should 
have  coveted  a  seat  in  the  Senate.  In  1855  he 
was  a  candidate  before  the  Legislature  to  succeed 
General  Shields,  but,  failing  to  get  the  required 
number  of  votes,  he  counselled  his  friends  to  vote 
for  Judge  Trumbull,  who  was  elected.  It  was  a 
personal  disappointment,  for  he  wished  to  be 
Senator,  but  in  the  end  it  proved  to  his  advan- 
tage. A  seat  in  the  Senate  would  have  stood  in 
the  way  of  his  later  triumph,  and  some  one  else 
in  all  probability  would  have  been  nominated  and 
elected  President  of  the  United  States  in  1860. 

1  have  already  spoken  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  opposi- 

(147) 


148  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

tion  -to  slavery.  He  was  not  an  extreme  man, 
and  he  was  never  classed  with  the  Abolitionists 
— that  intrepid  band  who  worked  early  and  late, 
and  for  years  almost  without  hope,  against  the 
colossal  system  of  wrong  whose  life  seemed  so 
entwined  with  the  life  of  the  republic  that  it 
looked  as  if  both  must  fall  together.  Abraham 
Lincoln  moved  slowly.  He  was  not  an  impulsive 
man,  but  took  time  to  form  a  determination. 
Even  in  the  war  there  were  many  who  blamed 
him  for  what  appeared  to  be  his  slowness,  but 
after  a  while  they  were  led  to  see  that  if  slow  he 
was  sure,  and  struck  only  when  the  time  had 
come. 

The  ten  years  before  the  war  were  years  of  po- 
litical commotion.  The  "irrepressible  conflict" 
between  slavery  and  the  spirit  of  freedom  had 
commenced,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  arrayed  him- 
self among  the  champions  of  freedom.  There 
was  a  desperate  struggle  to  introduce  slavery  into 
the  Territories,  so  that  in  course  of  time  more 
slave  States  might  be  added  to  the  Union,  and 
thus  the  slave  system  might  be  strengthened  and 
continue  to  retain  the  political  ascendency  it  had 
possessed  for  years.  The  rapid  growth  of  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

free  Northwest  alarmed  the  slave  power,  and  a 
counterpoise  was  required.  Northern  statesmen 
who  -cherished  an  ambition  to  be  President  had 
notice  served  upon  them  that  they  must  help  the 
slave  power  or  forfeit  its  support.  Among  those 
who  weakly  yielded  to  this  arrogant  demand  was 
Stephen  A.  Douglas.  He  favored  the  principle 
of  "  squatter  sovereignty,"  permitting  the  inhab- 
itants of  any  Territory  to  establish  slavery  within 
its  limits  if  so  disposed.  In  the  year  1854,  Mr. 
Lincoln,  in  a  public  debate  with  Mr.  Douglas 
held  at  Springfield  at  the  State  fair,  used  this  sig- 
nificant language : 

"  My  distinguished  friend  says  it  is  an  insult  to 
the  emigrants  to  Kansas  and  Nebraska  to  suppose 
they  are  not  able  to  govern  themselves.  We 
must  not  slur  over  an  argument  of  this  kind  be- 
cause it  tickles  the  ear.  It  must  be  met  and  an- 
swered. 1  admit  that  the  emigrant  to  Kansas 
and  Nebraska  is  able  to  govern  himself,  but,"  the 
speaker  rising  to  his  full  height,  "  1 deny  his  right 
to  govern  any  other  person  WITHOUT  THAT  FEE- 
SON'S  CONSENT." 

This  was  but  a  preliminary  skirmish.  Four 
years  later  came  the  memorable  series  of  debates 


150  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

between  Lincoln  and  Douglas,  each  being  the 
nominee  of  his  party  for  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate. The  platform  on  which  Lincoln  stood  con- 
tained two  significant  planks,  and  these  furnished 
khe  key-note  for  the  speeches  called  forth  by  the 
campaign.  I  quote  them  both,  and  I  hope  that 
my  young  friends  will  not  skip  them. 

"  3.  The  present  administration  has  proved  rec- 
reant to  the  trusts  committed  to  its  hands,  and  by 
its  extraordinary,  corrupt,  unjust,  and  undignified 
exertions,  to  give  effect  to  the  original  intention 
and  purpose  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  by  forc- 
ing upon  the  people  of  Kansas  against  their  will, 
and  in  defiance  of  their  known  and  earnestly-ex- 
pressed wishes,  a  constitution  recognizing  slavery 
as  one  of  their  domestic  institutions,  it  has  for- 
feited all  claim  to  the  support  of  the  friends  of 
free  men,  free  labor,  and  free  rights." 

"  5.  While  we  deprecate  all  interference  on  the 
part  of  political  organizations  with  the  action  of 
the  Judiciary,  if  such  action  is  limited  to  its  ap- 
propriate sphere,  yet  we  can  not  refrain  from  ex- 
pressing our  condemnation  of  the  principles  and 
tendencies  of  the  extra  judicial  opinions  of  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

United  States  in  the  matter  of  Dred  Scott,  wherein 
the  political  heresy  is  put  forth  that  the  Federal 
Constitution  extends  slavery  into  all  the  Territo- 
ries of  the  republic,  and  so  maintains  it  that  nei- 
ther Congress  nor  people,  through  their  territorial 
legislature,  can  by  law  abolish  it.  We  hold  that 
Congress  possesses  sovereign  power  over  the  Ter- 
ritories while  they  remain  in  a  territorial  condi- 
tion, and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment to  protect  the  Territories  from  the  curse 
of  slavery,  and  to  preserve  the  public  domain  for 
the  occupation  of  free  men  and  free  labor.  And 
we  declare  that  no  power  on  earth  can  carry  and 
maintain  slavery  in  the  States  against  the  will 
of  the  people  and  the  provisions  of  their  consti- 
tutions and  laws;  and  we  fully  endorse  the  recent 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  our  own  State 
which  declares  '  that  property  in  persons  i«  re 
pugnant  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  Illinois, 
and  that  all  persons  within  its  jurisdiction  are 
supposed  to  be  free ;  and  that  slavery,  where  it 
exists,  is  a  municipal  regulation  without  any  ex- 
tra territorial  operation.' " 

"With  the  other  points  of  difference  we  are  not 
concerned.   Whether  slavery  should  or  should  not 


152  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

be  allowed  to  extend  its  blight  over  the  virgin  soil 
of  the  new  Territories,  and  thus  make  its  final  ex- 
tinction well-nigh  impossible :  that  was  the  all-im- 
portant issue,  and  not  Illinois  alone,  but  the  coun- 
try at  large,  was  profoundly  interested  in  the  argu- 
ments of  the  two  contestants. 

Which  was  likely  to  "win  ? 

It  might  have  been  supposed  at  the  outset  that 
Lincoln  would  find  himself  overmatched.  He 
was  hardly  known  outside  his  own  State,  though 
he  had  served  two  years  in  Congress.  Douglas 
was  a  statesman  of  national  reputation.  For  fif- 
teen years  he  had  been  in  the  thick  of  the  conflict. 
He  was  a  recognized  leader  of  his  party,  and  al- 
ready he  was  looked  upon  as  a  probable  President 
at  no  distant  period.  In  scholastic  training  he 
was  far  ahead  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  was  a  forcible 
£pcnfrcrrswx_ada3ii£^nd  experienced  politician,  and 
his  recognized  position  Ten?  arcertain  weight  to  his 
words  which  his  opponent  could  not  claim. 

But,  admitting  all  this,  Mr.  Douglas  found  him- 
self confronted  by  no  inferior  antagonist.  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  had  a  strong  logical  mind,  quick  to 
detect  sophistry  and  bold  to  expose  it.  He  had 
a  fine  command  of  language,  a  clear  and  pleasant 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

voice,  and  a  power  of  sarcasm  which  he  used  with 
powerful  execution  at  times.  This  is  the  way  in 
which  an  intelligent  correspondent  speaks  of  his 
speech  at  Galesburg : 

"For  about  forty  minutes  he  spoke  with  a 
power  which  we  have  seldom  heard  equalled. 
There  was  a  grandeur  in  his  thoughts,  a  compre- 
hensiveness in  his  arguments,  and  a  binding  force 
in  his  conclusions,  which  were  pe  fectly  irresisti- 
ble. The  vast  throng  was  silent  as  death,  every 
eye  was  fixed  upon  the  speaker,  and  all  gave  him 
serious  attention.  He  was  the  tall  man  eloquent ; 
his  countenance  glowed  with  animation,  and  his 
eye  glistened  with  an  intelligence  that  made  it 
lustrous.  He  was  no  longer  awkward  and  un- 
gainly ;  but  graceful,  bold,  and  commanding. 

"  Mr.  Douglas  had  been  quietly  smoking  up  to 
this  time,  but  here  he  forgot  his  cigar  arid  list- 
ened with  anxious  attention.  When  he  rose  to 
reply  he  appeared  excited,  disturbed,  and  his  sec- 
ond effort  seemed  to  us  vastly  inferior  to  his  first. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  given  him  a  great  task,  and  Mr. 
Douglas  had  not  time  to  answer  him,  even  if  lie 
had  the  ability." 

Yet  there  were  many  points  of  resemblance  be- 


154:  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

tween  the  two  contestants.  Both  had  been  cra- 
dled in  poverty,  and  had  fought  their  way  up- 
ward from  obscurity  to  distinction.  Douglas  had 
climbed  the  higher,  but  the  topmost  round  of  the 
ladder  on  which  he  had  for  some  time  fixed  long- 
ing eyes,  he  was  destined  never  to  mount.  He 
had  sacrificed  much  to  reach  the  crowning  distinc- 
tion, but  it  was  not  for  him.  His  awkward,  un- 
graceful opponent,  obscure  in  comparison  with 
him,  was  destined  to  stride  past  him  and  sit  in  the 
coveted  seat  of  power.  But  the  smaller  prize — 
the  Senatorship — was  won  by  Douglas,  though 
Lincoln  carried  the  popular  vote. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   TWO   GIANTS. 

IF  I  were  writing  a  complete  and  exhaustive 
biography  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  I  should  be  tempted 
to  quote  freely  from  the  speeches  made  by  botli 
contestants  in  the  memorable  campaign  which 
made  Douglas  a  Senator,  and  his  opponent  the 
next  President  of  the  United  States.  But  neither 
my  space,  nor  the  scope  of  my  book,  allows  this. 
I  will,  however,  quote,  as  likely  to  be  of  general 
interest,  the  personal  description  of  Lincoln  given 
by  his  distinguished  rival : 

"  In  the  remarks  I  have  made  on  this  platform," 
said  Judge  Douglas,  "and  the  position  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  upon  it,  I  mean  nothing  personally  dis- 
respectful or  unkind  to  that  gentleman.  I  have 
known  him  for  nearly  twenty-five  years.  There 
were  many  points  of  sympathy  between  us  when 

we  first  got  acquainted.     "We  were  both  cornpara- 

(155) 


156       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

lively  boys,  and  both  struggling  with  poverty  in 
a  strange  land.  I  was  a  school-teacher  in  the 
town  of  Winchester,  and  he  a  nourishing  grocery- 
keeper  in  the  town  of  Salem.  He  was  more  suc- 
cessful in  his  occupation  than  I  was  in  mine,  and 
hence  more  fortunate  in  this  world's  goods.  Lin- 
coln is  one  of  those  peculiar  men  who  perform 
with  admirable  skill  everything  which  they  un- 
dertake. I  made  as  good  a  school-teacher  as  I 
could,  and  when  a  cabinet-maker  I  made  a  good 
bedstead  and  tables,  although  my  old  boss  said  I 
succeeded  better  with  bureaus  and  secretaries  than 
with  anything  else;  but  I  believe  that  Lincoln 
was  always  more  successful  in  business  than  I,  for 
his  business  enabled  him  to  get  into  the  Legislat- 
ure. I  met  him  there,  however,  and  had  a  sym- 
pathy with  him,  because  of  the  up-hill  struggle 
we  both  had  in  life. 

"  He  was  then  just  as  good  at  telling  an  anec- 
dote  as  now.  He  could  beat  any  of  the  boys 
in  wrestling,  or  running  a  foot-race,  in  pitching 
quoits,  or  tossing  a  coppar;  could  ruin  more 
liquor  than  all  the  boys  of  the  town  together,  and 
the  dignity  and  impartiality  with  which  he  pre- 
sided at  a  horse-race  or  a  fist-fight,  excited  the  ad- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  157 

miration  and  won  the  praise  of  everybody  that 
was  present  and  participated.  I  sympathized  with 
him  because  he  was  struggling  with  difficulties 
and  so  was  I.  Mr.  Lincoln  served  with  me  in  the 
Legislature  in  1836,  when  we  both  retired,  and  lie 
subsided,  or  became  submerged,  and  he  was  lost 
sight  of  as  a  public  man  for  some  years.  In  1846, 
when  Wilmot  introduced  the  celebrated  proviso, 
and  the  Abolition  tornado  swept  over  the  country, 
Lincoln  again  turned  up  as  a  Member  of  Con- 
gress from  the  Sangamon  district.  I  was  then  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  was  glad  to 
welcome  my  old  friend  and  companion.  While 
in  Congress,  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  op- 
position to  the  Mexican  war,  taking  the  side  of 
our  common  enemy  against  his  own  country  ;  and 
when  he  returned  home  he  found  that  the  indig- 
nation of  the  people  followed  him  everywhere, 
and  he  was  again  submerged,  or  obliged  to  re- 
tire into  private  life,  forgotten  by  his  former 
friends." 

This  sketch  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  though  apparent- 
ly friendly,  was  artfully  calculated  to  stir  up  prej- 
udice against  him,  and  the  backwoods  statesman 
was  not  willing  to  leave  it  unanswered.  Gener- 


158  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

ally  he  was  quite  well  able  to  take  care  of  him- 
self, and  did  not  fail  in  the  present  instance. 

This  is  his  reply  : 

"  The  Judge  is  wofully  at  fault  about  his  early 
friend  Lincoln  being  a  grocery-keeper.  I  don't 
know  as  it  would  be  a  great  sin  if  I  had  been  ; 
but  he  is  mistaken.  Lincoln  never  kept  a  grocery 
anywhere  in  the  world.  It  is  true  that  Lincoln 
did  work  the  latter  part  of  one  winter  in  a  little 
still-house  up  at  the  head  of  a  hollow.  And  so  I 
think  my  friend,  the  Judge,  is  equally  at  fault 
when  he  charges  me  at  the  time  when  I  was  in 
Congress  with  having  opposed  our  soldiers  who 
were  fighting  in  the  Mexican  war.  The  Judge 
did  not  make  his  charge  very  distinctly,  but  I  can 
tell  you  what  he  can  prove  by  referring  to  the 
record.  You  remember  I  was  an  old  Whig,  and 
whenever  the  Democratic  party  tried  to  get  me  to 
vote  that  the  war  had  been  righteously  begun  by 
the  President,  I  would  not  do  it.  But  whenever 
they  asked  for  any  money,  or  land-warrants,  or 
anything  to  pay  the  soldiers  there,  during  all  that 
time  I  gave  the  same  vote  that  Judge  Douglas  did. 
You  can  think  as  you  please  as  to  whether  that  was 
consistent.  Such  is  the  truth ;  and  the  Judge  has  a 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  \  5  9 

right  to  make  all  he  can  out  of  it.  But  when  he, 
by  a  general  charge,  conveys  the  idea  that  I  with- 
held supplies  from  the  soldiers  who  were  fighting 
in  the  Mexican  war,  or  did  anything  else  to  hin- 
der the  soldiers,  he  is,  to  say  the  least,  grossly  and 
altogether  mistaken,  as  a  consultation  of  the  rec- 
ords will  prove  to  him." 

Hot  content  with  defending  himself,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln essayed  on  his  side  to  contrast  his  opponent 
and  himself,  and,  like  him,  he  indulged  in  per- 
sonal reminiscences. 

"  Twenty-two  years -ago  Judge  Douglas  and  I 
first  became  acquainted ;  we  were  both  young 
then — he  a  trifle  younger  than  I.  Even  then  we 
were  both  ambitious, — I  perhaps  quite  as  much 
so  as  he.  With  me  the  race  of  ambition  has  been 
a  failure, — a  flat  failure ;  with  him  it  has  been 
one  of  splendid  success.  His  name  fills  the  na- 
tion, and  is  not  unknown  even  in  foreign  lands. 
I  affect  no  contempt  for  the  high  eminence  he 
has  reached, — so  readied  that  the  oppressed  of 
my  species  might  have  shared  with  me  in  the  ele- 
vation. I  would  rather  stand  on  that  eminence 
than  wear  the  richest  crown  that  ever  pressed  a 
monarch's  brow." 


1(30  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

In  another  connection  Mr.  Lincoln  says :  "  Sen- 
ator  Douglas  is  of  world-wide  renown.  All  the 
anxious  politicians  of  his  party,  or  who  had  been 
of  his  party  for  years  past,  have  been  looking 
upon  him  as  certainly,  at  no  distant  day,  to  be  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  They  have  seen 
in  his  round,  jolly,  fruitful  face,  post-offices,  land- 
offices,  marshalships,  and  cabinet  appointments, 
charge  ?hips  and  foreign  missions,  bursting  and 
sprouting  out  in  wonderful  exuberance,  ready  to 
be  laid  hold  of  by  their  greedy  hands.  And  as 
they  have  been  gazing  upon  this  attractive  pict- 
ure so  long,  they  can  not,  in  the  little  distraction 
that  has  taken  place  in  the  party,  bring  themselves 
to  give  up  the  charming  hope ;  but,  with  greedier 
anxiety,  they  rush,  about  him,  sustain  him,  and 
give  him  marches,  triumphal  entries,  and  recep- 
tions, beyond  what,  even  in  the  days  of  his  high- 
est prosperity,  they  could  have  brought  about  in 
his  favor.  On  the  contrary,  nobody  has  ever  ex- 
pected me  to  be  President.  In  my  poor,  lean, 
lank  face  nobody  has  ever  seen  that  any  cabbages 
were  sprouting  out.  There  are  disadvantages,  all 
taken  together,  that  the  Republicans  labor  under. 
We  have  to  fight  this  battle  upon  principle,  and 
^  principle  alone." 


ASH  AHA  M  LIXCOLN.  1 Q  \ 

It  may  be  paid,  in  summing  up,  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln proved  himself  to  be  fully  a  match  for  Judge 
Douglas  in  this  memorable  campaign.  1  may  go 
further  and  say  that  he  overmatched  him,  for  he 
adroitly  propounded  questions  which  his  oppo- 
nent was  compelled  to  answer,  and  did  answer  in 
a  way  that  killed  him  as  a  Presidential  candidate. 
Though  he  ran  in  1860,  it  was  as  an  independent 
candidate.  He  had  failed  to  retain  the  full  con- 
fidence of  his  party,  and  could  not  secure  the  reg- 
ular nomination.  Indeed,  he  contributed  indi- 
rectly to  Lincoln's  election,  by  dividing  his  own 
party,  so  that  Mr.  Lincoln  became  President, 
though  receiving  considerably  less  than  one-half 
of  the  popular  vote.  It  is  obvious  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, who  admits,  as  we  have  seen,  that  he  was 
quite  as  ambitious  as  Douglas,  was  looking  farther 
than  the  Senatorship.  Yet  he  was  personally  dis- 
appointed when  the  majority  in  the  Legislature 
proved  to  be  for  Douglas,  and  secured  the  elec- 
tion of  the  latter.  He  expressed  this  in  his  usual 
quaint  way  when  some  one  asked  him  how  he 
felt.  He  said,  "  that  he  felt  like  the  boy  that 
stubbed  his  toe, — it  hurt  too  bad  to  laugh,  and  he 

was  too  big  to  cry." 
11 


BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

It  is  probable  that  Abraham  Lincoln,  though 
he  says  no  one  had  ever  expected  him  to  be  Pres- 
ident, was  not  without  Presidential  aspirations. 
He  thought  no  doubt  that  an  election  as  Senator 
would  help  his  chances,  and  that  the  Senatorial 
position  would  prove  a  stepping-stone.  Even  the 
shrewdest,  however,  are  liable  to  make  mistakes, 
arid  we  are  led  to  believe  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  mis- 
taken in  this  instance.  If  he  had  triumphed  over 
Douglas  in  1858,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  by 
some  word  or  act  as  Senator  he  would  have  aroused 
prejudices  that  would  have  made  him  unavail- 
able in  1860,  and  the  nation  would  never  have 
discovered  the  leader  who,  under  Providence,  led 
it  out  of  the  wilderness,  and  conducted  it  to  peace 
and  freedom.  I  do  not  want  to  moralize  over- 
much, but  can  not  help  saying  to  my  readers  that 
in  the  lives  of  all  there  are  present  disappoint- 
ments that  lead  to  ultimate  success  and  prosperity. 
It  would  not  be  hard  to  adduce  convincing  proofs. 
Washington  and  Garfield  both  desired  to  go  to 
sea  when  they  were  boys.  Had  their  wishes  been 
gratified  their  after-careers  might  have  been  very 
different.  Cromwell  had  made  all  arrangements 
to  sail  for  America  when  still  obscure.  He  was 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  1(53 

prevented,  and  remained  in  his  own  country  to 
control  its  destiny,  and  take  a  position  at  the  head 
of  affairs.  .Remember  this  when  your  cherished 
plans  are  defeated.  There  is  a  higher  wisdom 
than  ours  that  shapes  and  directs  our  lives. 


CHAPTER  XVTQ. 

ILLINOIS   DECLARES   FOR   THE   KAIL-SPLITTEE. 

HENCEFORTH  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  marked 
man.  He  had  sprung  into  national  prominence. 
Limited  as  had  been  his  tenure  of  office — includ- 
ing only  two  years  in  the  lower  house  of  Con- 
gress— it  is  remarkable  how  suddenly  he  came  to 
be  recognized  as  a  leader.  But  at  the  East  he 
was  known  only  by  reputation.  This  was  soon 
remedied.  He  received  an  invitation  to  lecture 
in  New  York,  or  rather  in  Mr.  Beecher's  church 
in  Brooklyn.  He  was  well  pleased  to  accept,  but 
stipulated  that  he  should  be  permitted  to  speak 
on  a  political  subject.  When  he  reached  New 
York,  he  found  that  a  change  had  been  made  in 
the  place  where  he  was  to  speak,  and  the  Cooper 
Institute,  where  at  intervals  nearly  every  eminent 
man  in  the  country  has  been  heard,  had  been  en- 
gaged for  his  debut. 
(164) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

It  was  not  without  a  feeling  of  modest  shyness 
that  he  surveyed  the  immense  audience  gathered 
to  hear  him,  and  he  was  surprised  to  see  the  most 
cultivated  citizens  of  the  great  metropolis  upon 
the  platform.  Among  them  was  William  Cullen 
Bryant,  who  was  president  of  the  meeting,  and 
in  that  capacity  introduced  him  as  "an  eminent 
citizen  of  the  West,  hitherto  known  to  you  only 
by  reputation." 

Mr.  Lincoln  commenced  his  address  in  low 
tones,  but  his  voice  became  louder  and  his  man- 
ner more  confident  as  he  proceeded.  His  speech 
was  an  elaborate  argument  to  prove  that  the  orig- 
iiial  framers  of  the  American  Government  in- 
tended that  the  Federal  Government  should  ex- 
ercise absolute  control  of  the  Federal  territories, 
so  far  as  the  subject  of  slavery  was  concerned, 
and  had  never  surrendered  this  high  privilege  to 
local  legislation.  This  he  established  by  incon- 
trovertible proof,  and  in  so  doing  quite  upset 
Senator  Douglas'  theory  of  Squatter  Sovereignty. 
Incidentally  he  vindicated  the  right  of  the  Re- 
publican party  to  exist. 

I  have  not  room  to  quote  from  this  remarkable 
speech.  I  am  afraid  I  have  already  introduced 


166  LOTHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

more  extracts  from  speeches  than  my  young  read- 
ers will  enjoy.  They  are  necessary,  however,  if 
we  would  understand  what  were  the  views  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  what  made  him  President. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Lincoln's  speech  was  printed 
in  full  in  two  prominent  papers — the  Tribune 
and  the  Evening  Post,  accompanied  by  comments 
of  the  most  favorable  character.  The  first  was 
edited  by  Horace  Greeley,  the  latter  by  the  poet 
Bryant,  who  was  nearly  as  conspicuous  a  politi- 
cian as  a  poet.  "  No  man  ever  before  made  such 
an  impression  on  his  first  appeal  to  a  New  York 
audience,"  said  the  Tribune. 

Robert  Lincoln,  Mr.  Lincoln's  oldest  son,  was 
a  student  at  Harvard,  and  his  father  travelled 
into  New  England  to  visit  him.  He  was  besieged 
by  applications  to  speak  at  Republican  meetings, 
and  accepted  a  few  invitations,  being  everywhere 
cordially  received.  This  visit  no  doubt  bore 
fruit,  and  drew  many  voters  to  his  standard,  when 
he  had  been  formally  presented  to  the  country  as 
a  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  That  my  read- 
ers may  learn  how  he  spoke,  and  how  he  ap- 
peared, I  quote  from  the  Manchester  (N.  H.) 
Mirror,  an  independent  paper: 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"  He  spoke  an  hour  and  a  half  with  great  fair- 
ness, great  apparent  candor,  and  with  wonderful 
interest.  He  did  not  abuse  the  South,  the  admin- 
istration, or  the  Democrats,  or  indulge  in  any 
personalities,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  hits  at 
Douglas'  notions.  He  is  far  from  prepossessing 
in  personal  appearance,  and  his  voice  is  disagree- 
able ;  and  jet  he  wins  your  attention  and  good- 
will from  the  start.  He  indulges  in  no  flowers  of 
rhetoric,  no  eloquent  passages.  He  is  not  a  wit, 
a  humorist,  or  a  clown ;  yet  so  great  a  vein  of 
pleasantry  and  good-nature  pervades  what  he 
says,  gilding  over  a  deep  current  of  practical  ar- 
gument he  keeps  his  hearers  in  a  smiling  mood, 
with  their  mouths  open  ready  to  swallow  all  he 
says.  His  sense  of  the  ludicrous  is  very  keen ; 
and  an  exhibition  of  that  is  the  clincher  of  all 
his  arguments, — not  the  ludicrous  acts  of  persons, 
but  ludicrous  ideas.  Hence  he  is  never  offensive, 
and  steals  away  willingly  into  his  train  of  belief 
persons  who  were  opposed  to  him.  For  the  first 
half  hour  his  opponents  would  agree  with  every- 
thing he  uttered ;  and  from  that  point  he  began 
to  lead  them  off  little  by  little,  until  it  seemed 
as  if  he  had  srot  them  all  into  his  fold.  He  dis- 


1(53  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

plays  more  shrewdness,  more  knowledge  of  the 
masses  of  mankind,  than  any  public  speaker  we 
have  heard  since  Long  Jim  Wilson  left  for  Cali- 
fornia." 

On  the  day  succeeding  his  speech  in  Norwich, 
he  met  in  the  cars  a  clergyman  named  Gulliver, 
who  sought  his  acquaintance. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln,"  he  said,  "  I  thought  your  speech 
last  evening  the  most  remarkable  I  ever  heard." 

"  You  do  not  mean  this  ? "  said  Mr.  Lincoln, 
incredulously. 

"Indeed,  sir,"  said  Gulliver,  "I  learned  more 
of  the  art  of  public  speaking  last  evening  than  I 
could  from  a  whole  course  of  lectures  on  rhetoric." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  puzzled,  for  he  was  not  a  man 
to  accept  extravagant  compliments. 

"  I  should  like  very  much  to  know  what  it  was 
in  my  speech  which  you  thought  so  remarkable," 
lie  said. 

"  The  clearness  of  your  -statements,"  answered 
Gulliver,  "the  unanswerable  style  of  your  rea 
soning,   and   especially  your  illustrations,  which 
were  romance  and  pathos,  and  fun  and  logic,  all 
welded  together." 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  this,"  said  Mr. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Lincoln.  "  I  have  been  wishing  for  a  long  time 
to  find  some  one  who  would  make  this  anal- 
ysis for  me.  It  throws  light  on  a  subject  which 
has  been  dark  to  me.  I  can  understand  very 
readily  how  such  a  power  as  you  have  ascribed 
to-  me  will  account  for  the  effect  which  seems  to 
be  produced  by  my  speeches.  I  hope  you  have 
not  been  too  flattering  in  your  estimate.  Cer- 
tainly I  have  had  a  most  wonderful  success  for  a 
man  of  rny  limited  education." 

"  Mr.  Lincoln,  may  I  say  one  thing  to  you  be- 
fore we  separate  ? "  asked  Mr.  Gulliver  later. 

"  Certainly  ;  anything  you  please." 

"  You  have  spoken  of  the  tendency  of  political 
life  in  Washington  to  debase  the  moral  convic- 
tions of  our  representatives  there,  by  the  admixt- 
ure of  considerations  of  mere  political  expe- 
diency. You  have  become,  by  the  controversy 
with  Mr.  Douglas,  one  of  our  leaders  in  this  great 
struggle  with  slavery,  which  is  undoubtedly  the 
struggle  of  the  nation  and  the  age.  What  I 
would  like  to  say  is  this,  and  I  say  it  with  a  full 
heart :  Be  true  to  your  principles,  and  we  will 
~be  true  to  you,  and  God  will  l)e  true  to  us  all !  " 

"  I  say  amen  to  that !  amen  to  that !  "  answered 


170  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Mr.  Lincoln,  taking  his  hand  in  both  his  own, 
while  his  face  lighted  up  sympathetically. 

I  may  as  well  mention,  here  the  first  public  oc- 
casion on  which  Mr.  Lincoln's  name  was  men- 
tioned for  the  Presidency. 

On  the  9th  and  10th  of  May  the  Republican 
State  Convention  met  at  Decatur.  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  present  as  a  spectator,  but  he  attracted  the 
attention  of  Gov.  Oglesby,  who  rose,  and  said : 
"  T  am  informed  that  a  distinguished  citizen  of 
Illinois,  and  one  whom  Illinois  will  ever  delight 
to  honor,  is  present ;  and  I  wish  to  move  that  this 
body  invite  him  to  a  seat  on  the  stand." 

Public  interest  and  curiosity  were  aroused. 
Who  was  this  distinguished  citizen  ? 

The  Governor  paused  a  moment,  and  then  ut- 
tered the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Instantly  there  was  a  roar  of  applause,  there 
was  a  rush  to  where  the  astonished  Lincoln  sat, 
he  was  seized,  and  the  crowd  being  too  dense  to 
press  through,  he  was  literally  passed  over  the 
heads  arid  shoulders  of  the  great  throng  until 
breathless  he  found  himself  on  the  platform. 
Willing  or  unwilling  he  was  literally  for  the  time 
being  "in  the  hands  of  his  friends." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Later  on  Gov.  Oglesby  rose  once  more  and 
said :  "  There  is  an  old  Democrat  outside  who 
has  something  which  he  wrislies  to  present  to  the 
Convention." 

"  What  is  it  ? "  "  What  is  it  ? "  "  Eeceive  it ! " 
shouts  the  crowd. 

The  door  of  the  wigwam  opens,  and  an  old 
man,  bluff  and  hearty,  comes  forward,  bearing  on 
his  shoulder  two  small  rails,  surmounted  by  a 
banner,  with  this  inscription  : — 

TWO   KAILS 

FROM  A  LOT  MADE  BY  ABRAHAM  LlNCOLN  AND 
JOHN  HANKS,  IN  THE  SANGAMON   BOTTOM,   IN 

THE  YEAR  1830. 

This  old  man  was  John  Hanks  himself !  His 
entrance  was  greeted  with  tumultuous  applause. 

"  Lincoln  !  Lincoln  !  A  speech  ! "  shouts  the 
crowd. 

Mr.  Lincoln  seemed  amused.  He  rose  at  length 
and  said  : 

"Gentlemen,  I  suppose  you  want  to  know 
something  about  those  things,"  (the  rails).  "  Well, 
the  truth  is,  John  Hanks  and  I  did  make  rails  in 


172  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  Sangamon  Bottom.  I  don't  know  whethei 
we  made  those  rails  or  not;  fact  is,  I  don't  think 
they  are  a  credit  to  the  makers,"  (laughing  as  he 
spoke).  "  But  I  do  know  this :  I  made  rails  then, 
and  I  think  I  could  make  better  ones  than  these 
now." 

Before  the  Convention  dissolved,  a  resolution 
was  passed,  declaring  that  "Abraham  Lincoln  is 
the  first  choice  of  the  Republican  party  of  Illi- 
nois for  the  Presidency,  and  instructing  the  dele- 
gates to  the  Chicago  Convention  to  use  all  honor- 
able means  to  secure  his  nomination,  and  to  cast 
the  vote  of  the  State  as  a  unit  for  him." 

So  Abraham  Lincoln,  "  the  rail-Splitter,"  as  he 
was  familiarly  called,  was  fairly  in  the  field  as  a 
candidate  for  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the 
nation. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

NOMINATED   FOE   PRESIDENT. 

ON  the  16th  of  May  the  Republican  Conven- 
tion assembled  in  Chicago.  Considered  with 
reference  to  its  outcome,  no  more  important  con- 
vention had  assembled  since  the  organization  of 
the  Government.  Though  this  could  not  be  real- 
ized at  the  time,  its  deliberations  were  followed 
with  great  interest  all  over  the  country.  The 
opponents  of  the  slave  power  were,  for  the  tirst 
time,  to  make  a  formidable  effort  to  prevent  its 
extension  and  indefinite  perpetuation. 

Of  course,  there  had  been  more  or  less  election- 
eering in  advance.  Half  a  dozen  candidates  were 
in  the  field ;  but  there  were  two  who  were  recog- 
nized as  leading  in  strength  and  popularity. 
These  were  William  H.  Seward  and  Abraham 
Lincoln.  The  former,  in  length  and  variety  of 

public  service,  in  general  culture,  and  national 

(173) 


BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

reputation,  was  far  superior.  It  was  felt  that  he 
would  make  an  admirable  candidate,  and  that  he 
deserved  the  nomination  ;  but  there  were  many 
who  were  strongly  opposed  to  him.  Three  im- 
portant States — Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and 
Indiana — declared  that,  as  against  Douglas,  they 
could  do  nothing  if  Seward  were  the  nominee. 
Illinois,  of  course,  was  for  Lincoln,  and  this 
giant  of  the  Western  prairies  enjoyed  a  popu- 
larity which  his  more  experienced  competitor 
could  not  boast.  Yet  for  the  first  two  days 
Seward's  chances  seemed  the  better  of  the  two. 
The  other  candidates  whose  names  were  present- 
ed to  the  Convention  were  Mr.  Dayton,  of  New 
Jersey ;  Mr.  Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania ;  Edward 
Bates,  of  Missouri ;  and  Ohio  offered  two  dis- 
tinguished sons  —  Salmon  P.  Chase  and  John 
McLean. 

On  the  first  and  second  ballots  Mr.  Seward  led  ; 
but,  on  the  third,  Mr.  Lincoln  lacked  but  a  vote 
and  a  half  of  the  number  necessary  to  make  him 
the  nominee.  An  Ohio  delegate  rose  and  changed 
four  votes  from  Chase  to  Lincoln.  This  was  suffi- 
cient. He  was  nominated.  The  vast  building 
shook  with  the  cheers  of  the  dense  throng.  State 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  175 

after  State  changed  its  vote  to  tho  man  of  destiny, 
and  his  nomination  was  made  unanimous.  In  the 
afternoon,  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of  Maine,  was  nomi- 
nated for  Vice-President. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  Springfield, 
bearing  the  suspense  as  well  as  he  could.  My  boy 
readers  will  be  interested  to  know  that  he  spent 
a  considerable  part  of  his  time  in  playing  base- 
ball, his  mind  being  too  preoccupied  to  do  his 
ordinary  work.  Dispatches  were  received  from 
time  to  time,  but  nothing  decisive. 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  some  of  his  friends  were  wait- 
ing in  the  office  of  the  Journal  when  the  local 
editor  rushed  in,  in  a  fever  of  excitement. 

""What's  the  news?"  was  the  breathless  in- 
quiry. 

"  The  Convention  has  made  a  nomination,"  he 
said,  "  and  Mr.  Seward " 

A  look  of  intense  disappointment  was  begin- 
ning to  show  itself  on  the  faces  of  the  listeners. 
They  supposed  that  Seward  was  nominated. 

"  And  Seward  is — the  second  man  on  the  list," 
continued  the  editor. 

He  could  no  longer  restrain  himself.  Jumping 
on  the  editorial  table,  he  shouted,  "  Gentlemen,  I 


176  EOYROOD  AND  MAX  HOOD  OF 

propose  three  cheers  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  the 
next  President  of  the  United  States." 

The  cheers  were  given  with  a  will. 

The  dispatch  was  handed  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  who 
read  it  quietly. 

Then  he  put  it  in  his  pocket,  saying,  "  There 
is  a  little  woman  on  Eighth  Street  who  will  be 
interested  to  hear  this,"  and  he  walked  home. 

In  Springfield  the  news  excited  the  greatest 
enthusiasm.  All  knew  and  loved  Abraham  Lin- 
coin.  He  set  himself  above  no  one,  but  greeted 
all  with  cordial  kindness.  The  nomination  was 
felt  to  be  a  personal  compliment  to  Springfield. 
The  country  had  come  to  them  for  a  President, 
and  to  the  man  above  all  others  whom  they  would 
personally  have  selected. 

That  day  Mr.  Lincoln  had  to  keep  open  house. 
His  modest  residence  proved  quite  too  small  to 
contain  the  crowds  who  wanted  to  enter  and 
shake  hands  with  the  man  who  had  become  so 
suddenly  of  national  importance.  They  received 
a  cordial  welcome ;  and  no  one  could  detect  in 
the  nominee  any  unusual  elation  nor  any  devi- 
ation from  his  usual  plain  and  modest  deport- 
ment. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  1 77 

& 

The  next  day  Mr.  Lincoln  was  formally  noti- 
fied of  his  election  by  a  Committee  of  the  Con- 
vention, with  Mr.  Ashmun  at  the  head.  This 
was  his  response: 

"  MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  COM- 
MITTEE:— I  tender  to  yon,  and  through  you  to 
the  Republican  National  Convention,  and  all  the 
people  represented  in  it,  my  profonndest  thanks 
for  the  high  honor  done  me,  which  you  now  for- 
mally announce.  Deeply  and  even  painfully 
sensible  of  the  great  responsibility  which  is  in- 
separable from  this  high  honor — a  responsibility 
which  I  could  almost  wish  had  fallen  upon  some 
one  of  the  far  more  eminent  men  and  experi- 
enced statesmen  whoso  distinguished  names  were 
before  the  Convention,  I  shall,  by  your  leave, 
consider  more  fully  the  resolutions  of  the  Con- 
vention, denominated  the  platform,  and,  without 
unnecessary  and  unreasonable  delay,  respond  to 
you,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  writing,  not  doubting  that 
the  platform  will  be  found  satisfactory,  and  the 
nomination  gratefully  accepted.  And  now  I  will 
not  longer  defer  the  pleasure  of  taking  you,  and 
each  of  you,  by  the  hand." 

Let  us  consider  who  were  Mr.  Lincoln's  rivals 
12 


IT'S  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

in  the  Presidential  race.  Usually  there  are  but 
two  tickets  in  the  field.  This  time  there  were 
four.  First  in  order  of  time  had  come  the  Na- 
tional Constitutional  Union  Convention,  made  up 
largely  of  old  Whigs.  At  this  Convention  John 
Bell,  of  Tennessee,  was  nominated  for  President, 
.and  Edward  Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  for  Vice- 
President.  The  Democratic  National  Convention 
had  met  at  Charleston,  but  adjourned  without 
deciding  upon  a  candidate.  Mr.  Douglas  was 
the  most  prominent  man  before  it,  but  extreme 
Southerners  doubted  his  entire  devotion  to 
slavery,  and  he  was  unable  to  obtain  the  neces- 
sary two-thirds  vote.  The  two  factions  into 
which  the  Convention  split  afterward  met:  the 
one  at  Baltimore,  the  other  at  Richmond.  At 
the  Baltimore  Convention  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
was  nominated  for  President,  and  Mr.  Johnson, 
of  Georgia,  for  Yice-President.  At  the  Rich- 
mond Convention  of  Southern  seceders,  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  and  Joseph  Lane,  of 
Oregon,  were  selected  as  standard-bearers. 

O  f 

In  this  division  of  the  Democracy  lay  the  hope 
of  the  new  Republican  party.  With  the  De- 
mocracy united  they  would  have  been  unable  to 


ABBA  HAM  LINCOLN.  J  79 

cope  ;  but  they  were  stronger  than  either  faction. 
When  the  eventful  6th  of  November  arrived,  the 
result  was  what  might  have  been  anticipated. 
Abraham  Lincoln,  the  poor  boy  whose  fortunes 
we  have  so  long  followed,  reached  the  highest  step 
of  political  preferment.  He  received  1,857,610 
votes;  Mr.  Douglas  came  next,  with  1,291,574; 
while  Mr.  Brecldnridge  could  muster  only  850,082 ; 
Mr.  Bell  secured  646,124.  Of  the  electoral  votes, 
however,  Mr.  Lincoln  received  a  majority,  namely, 
180  out  of  292. 

To  go  back  a  little.  From  the  day  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's nomination  he  was  beset  by  callers — some 
drawn  by  curiosity,  and  many  by  considerations 
of  private  interest.  They  found  him  the  same 
unaffected,  plain  man  that  he  had  always  been. 
He  even  answered  the  door-bell  himself,  and  per- 
sonally ushered  visitors  in  and  out.  My  readers 
will  be  interested  in  two  anecdotes  of  this  time, 
which  I  transcribe  from  the  interesting  volume 
of  Dr.  Holland,  already  more  than  once  re- 
ferred to : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  being  seated  in  conversation  with 
a  gentleman  one  day,  two  raw,  plainly-dressed 
young  '  Suckers '  entered  the  room  and  bashfully 


180       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

lingered  near  the  door.  As  soon  as  he  observed 
them  and  apprehended  their  embarrassment,  he 
rose  and  walked  to  them,  saying,  '  How  do  you 
do,  my  good  fellows  ?  What  can  I  do  for  you  ? 
Will  you  sit  down  ? ' 

"  The  spokesman  of  the  pair,  the  shorter  of 
the  two,  declined  to  sit,  and  explained  tho  object 
of  the  call  thus :  he  had  had  a  talk  about  the  rela- 
tive height  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  companion, 
and  had  asserted  his  belief  that  they  were  of 
exactly  the  same  height.  He  had  come  in  to 
verify  his  judgment.  Mr.  Lincoln  smiled,  went 
and  got  his  cane,  and,  placing  the  end  of  it  upon 
the  wall,  said,  '  Here,  young  man,  come  under 
here.' 

"  The  young  man  cams  under  the  cane,  as 
Mr.  Lincoln  held  it,  and  when  it  was  perfectly 
adjusted  to  his  height,  Mr.  Lincoln  said,  '  Now 
come  out,  and  hold  up  the  cane.'  This  he  did, 
while  Mr.  Lincoln  stepped  under.  Rubbing  his 
head  back  and  forth  to  see  that  it  worked  easily 
under  the  measurement,  he  stepped  out,  and  de- 
clared to  the  sagacious  fellow  who  was  curiously 
looking  on,  that  he  had  guessed  with  remarkable 
accuracy — that  he  and  the  young  man  were  ex- 


A.BRA  HAM  LINCOLN. 

actly  of  tlie  same  height.  Then  he  shook  hands 
with  them,  and  sent  them  on  their  way.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln would  just  as  soon  have  thought  of  cutting 
off'  his  right  hand  as  he  would  have  thought  of 
turning  those  boys  away  with  the  impression  that 
they  had  in  any  way  insulted  his  dignity. 

"  They  had  hardly  disappeared  when  an  old 
and  modestly-dressed  woman  made  her  appear- 
ance. She  knew  Mr.  Lincoln,  but  Mr  Lincoln  did 
not  at  first  recognize  her.  Then  she  undertook 
to  recall  to  his  memory  certain  incidents  con- 
nected with  his  ride  upon  the  Circuit — especially 
upon  his  dining  at  her  house  upon  the  road  at  dif- 
ferent times.  Then  he  remembered  her  and  her 
home.  Having  fixed  her  own  place  in  her  recol- 
lection, she  tried  to  recall  to  him  a  certain  scanty 
dinner  of  bread  and  milk  that  he  once  ate  at  her 
house.  He  could  not  remember  it ;  on  the  con- 
trary, he  only  remembered  that  he  had  always 
fared  well  at  her  house.  '  Well,'  said  she,  '  one 
day  you  came  along  after  we  had  got  through 
dinner,  and  we  had  eaten  up  everything,  and  I 
could  give  you  nothing  but  a  bowl  of  bread  and 
milk  ;  and  you.  ate  it ;  and  when  you  got  up  you 
said  it  was  good  enough  for  the  President  of  the 


182  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

United  States.'  The  good  old  woman,  remember- 
ing the  remark,  had  come  in  from  the  country, 
making  a  journey  of  eight  or  ten  miles,  to  relate 
to  Mr.  Lincoln  this  incident,  which,  in  her  mind, 
had  doubtless  taken  the  form  of  prophecy.  Mr. 
Lincoln  placed  the  honest  creature  at  her  ease, 
chatted  with  her  of  old  times,  and  dismissed  her 
in  the  most  happy  and  complacent  frame  of 
mind." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

FAREWELL   TO    SPRINGFIELD. 

HOWEVER  bitter  and  acrimonious  a  political 
campaign  may  have  been,  the  result  is  usually 
accepted  good-naturedly.  The  defeated  party 
hopes  for  better  luck  next  time,  and  awaits  with 
interest  the  course  of  the  new  Executive.  But 
this  was  not  the  case  after  the  election  which 
made  Mr.  Lincoln  President.  The  South  was 
sullen,  the  North  divided  in  sentiment.  The 
party  that  sustained  slavery  had  staked  all  on  the 
issue  of  the  campaign.  They  were  not  disposed 
to  acquiesce  in  the  result.  They  were  quiet,  but 
it  was  a  dangerous  quiet.  They  were  biding  their 
time,  and  meant  mischief. 

James  Buchanan  was  President.  He  was  an 
old  man ;  cautious  to  timidity,  overawed  by  the 
bold,  defiant  spirits  that  constituted  his  Cabinet — 

not  seeing,  or  not  caring  to  see,  the  evidences  of 

(188) 


BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

their  disloyalty.  Never  did  a  President  long 
more  ardently  for  his  term  to  close.  He  saw  that 
a  storm  was  brewing,  the  like  of  which  the  coun- 
try had  never  seen.  He  earnestly  hoped  that  it 
would  not  burst  till  he  had  laid  down  the  respon- 
sibilities of  office. 

Abraham  Lincoln  waited  quietly  at  Springfield 
for  the  time  to  come  that  should  separate  him 
from  the  tranquil  course  of  life  he  had  led  hith- 
erto and  precipitate  him  into  the  maelstrom  of 
political  excitement  at  Washington,  wherein  he  was 
to  be  the  central  figure.  Knowing  him  as  in  after 
years  we  learned  to  know  him,  we  can  not  doubt 
that  at  times  he  felt  almost  overwhelmed  by  his 
coming  burdens.  It  was  well,  perhaps,  that  he 
was  not  permitted  to  be  too  much  alone.  His 
attention  was  distracted  by  throngs  of  visitors, 
— autograph-hunters  and  office-seekers  being  the 
most  conspicuous — who  consumed  a  large  part  of 
his  time. 

As  this  story  is  written  especially  for  young  peo- 
ple, I  will  venture  to  transcribe  from  Mr.  Hol- 
land's "  Life "  two  incidents  which  connected 
him  with  children : 

"  He  was  holding  a  reception  at  the  Tremont 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  185 

House  in  Chicago.  A  fond  father  took  in  a  little 
boy  by  the  hand  who  was  anxious  to  see  the  new 
President.  The  moment  the  child  entered  the  par- 
lor door,  he  of  his  own  motion,  and  quite  to  the  sur- 
prise of  his  father,  took  off  his  hat,  and,  giving  it  a 
swing,  cried,  'Hurrah  for  Lincoln!'  There  was  a 
crowd,  but  as  soon  as  Mr.  Lincoln  could  get  hold 
of  the  little  fellow,  he  lifted  him  in  his  hands,  and, 
tossing  him  toward  the  ceiling,  laughingly  shouted, 
'  Hurrah  for  you  ! 3 

"  To  Mr.  Lincoln  it  was  evidently  a  refreshing 
episode  in  the  dreary  work  of  hand-shaking. 

"  At  a  party  in  Chicago  during  this  visit,  he 
saw  a  little  girl  timidly  approaching  him.  He 
called  her  to  him,  and  asked  her  what  she  wished 
for.  She  replied  that  she  wanted  his  name.  Mr. 
Lincoln  looked  back  into  the  room,  and  said, 
'  But  here  are  other  little  girls — they  would  feel 
badly  if  I  should  give  my  name  only  to  you.' 
The  little  girl  replied  that  there  were  eight  in 
all.  'Then,'  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  'get  me  eight 
sheets  of  paper  and  pen  and  ink  and  I  will  see 
what  I  can  do  for  you.'  The  paper  was  brought, 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  sat  down  in  the  crowded  draw- 
ing-room, and  wrote  a  sentence  upon  each  sheet, 


BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

appending  his  name;  and  thus  every  little  girl 
carried  off  her  souvenir." 

On  the  llth  of  February,  1861,  Abraham  Lin- 
coln left  his  pleasant  Western  home  for  the  cap- 
ital. It  was  to  be  a  leisurely  journey,  for  he 
would  be  expected  to  stop  at  many  points  to 
meet  friends  and  receive  friendly  greetings. 
Three  weeks  were  to  elapse  before  he  would  be 
inaugurated,  but,  as  he  bade  farewell  to  his 
friends  and  neighbors,  he  felt  that  the  burden  of 
care  had  already  fallen  upon  him.  How  he  felt 
may  be  understood  from  the  few  farewell  words 
which  he  spoke.  As  reported  l>y  Mr.  Lam  on, 
they  are  as  follows  : 

"  FRIENDS  : — No  one  who  has  never  been  placed 
in  a  like  position  can  understand  iny  feelings  at 
this  hour,  nor  the  oppressive  sadness  I  feel  at  this 
parting.  For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  I 
have  lived  among  you,  and,  during  all  that  time, 
I  have  received  nothing  but  kindness  at  your 
hands.  Here  I  have  lived  from  my  youth,  until 
now  I  am  an  old  man.  Here  the  most  sacred  ties 
o£  earth  were  assumed.  Here  all  my  children 
were  born,  and  here  one  of  them  lies  buried. 
To  yon,  dear  friends,  I  owe  all  that  I  have — all 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

that  I  am.  All  the  strange,  checkered  past  seems 
to  crowd  upon  my  mind.  To-day  I  leave  you.  I 
go  to  assume  a  task  more  difficult  than  that  which 
devolved  upon  Washington.  Unless  the  great 
God  who  assisted  him  shall  be  with  and  aid  me, 
I  must  fail ;  but,  if  the  same  Omniscient  mind 
and  almighty  arm  that  directed  and  protected  him 
shall  guide  and  support  me,  I  shall  not  fail — I 
shall  succeed.  Let  us  all  pray  that  the  God  of 
our  fathers  may  not  forsake  us  now.  To  Him  I 
commend  you  all.  Permit  me  to  ask  that,  with 
equal  security  and  faith,  you  will  invoke  His 
wisdom  and  guidance  for  me.  With  these  few 
words,  I  must  leave  you  ;  for  how  long,  I  know 
not.  Friends,  one  and  all,  I  must  now  bid  you 
an  affectionate  farewell." 

I  have  already  alluded  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  consti- 
tutional melancholy  inherited  from  his  mother. 
With  it  was  joined  a  vein  of  superstition,  which  at 
times  darkened  the  shadow  that  seemed  to  hover 
about  him.  In  this  connection,  and  as  an  illus- 
tration of  this  characteristic  of  the  President- 
elect, I  quote  an  interesting  reminiscence  of  John 
Hay,  the  secretary  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  the  words 
of  his  chief : 


188       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  It  was  just  after  my  election  in  1860,  when 
the  news  had  been  coming  in  thick  and  fast  all 
day,  and  there  had  been  a  great  '  hurrah,  boys ! ' 
so  that  I  was  well  tired  out,  and  went  home  to 
rest,  throwing  myself  upon  a  lounge  in  my  cham- 
ber. Opposite  to  where  I  lay  was  a  bureau  with 
a  swinging  glass  upon  it ;  and,  in  looking  in  that 
glass,  1  saw  myself  reflected  nearly  at  full  length ; 
but  my  face,  I  noticed,  had  two  separate  and  dis- 
tinct images — the  tip  of  the  nose  of  one  being 
about  three  inches  from  the  tip  of  the  other.  1 
was  a  little  bothered — perhaps  startled,  and  got 
up  and  looked  in  the  glass,  but  the  illusion  van- 
ished. On  lying  down  again  I  saw  it  a  second 
time — plainer,  if  possible,  than  before ;  and  then 
I  noticed  that  one  of  the  faces  was  a  little  paler — 
say,  five  shades — than  the  other.  I  got  up,  and 
the  thing  melted  away;  and  1  went  off,  and  in 
the  excitement  of  the  hour  forgot  all  about  it — 
nearly,  but  not  quite ;  for  the  thing  would  once 
in  a  while  come  up  and  give  me  a  little  pang,  as 
if  something  uncomfortable  had  happened.  When 
I  went  home,  I  told  my  wife  about  it ;  and  a  few 
days  after,  I  tried  the  experiment  again — when, 
sure  enough,  the  thing  came  back  again ;  but  I 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

never  succeeded  in  bringing  back  the  ghost  after 
that,  though  I  once  tried  very  industriously  to 
show  it  to  ray  wife,  who  was  worried  about  it 
somewhat.  She  thought  it  was  a  '  sign '  that  I 
was  to  be  elected  to  a  second  term  of  office,  and 
that  the  paleness  of  one  of  the  faces  was  an  omen 
that  I  should  not  see  life  through  the  last  term." 

Mrs.  Lincoln's  impression  was  curiously  correct, 
as  it  turned  out ;  but  we  must  set  it  down  as  a 
singular  coincidence,  and  nothing  more.  Camp- 
bell, in  one  of  his  spirited  lyrics,  tells  us  that 
"  Coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before  ";  but 
it  is  hardly  likely  that  in  this  case  God  should 
have  sent  the  President-elect  a  premonition  of  the 
fate  which  was  to.  overtake  him  some  years 
later.  It  is  better  to  consider  that  the  vision  had 
a  natural  cause  in  the  rumors  of  assassination 
which  were  even  then  rife  on  account  of  the  bitter 
feeling  excited  by  the  election  of  a  Republican 
President.  Such  rumors  had  been  brought  to 
Mr.  Lincoln  himself,  and  he  had  been  urged  to 
take  measures  against  assassination.  But  he  con- 
sidered them  useless.  "  If  they  want  to  kill  me," 
he  said,  "  there  is  nothing  to  prevent."  He  felt 
that  it  would  be  easy  enough  for  an  enemy  to 


190  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

take  his  life,  no  matter  how  many  guards  he 
might  have  around  him.  If  it  were  his  destiny 
to  die,  he  felt  that  death  would  come  in  spite  of 
all  precautions. 

I  need  hardly  say  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  unfor- 
tunate in  having  such  a  temperament.  Fortu- 
nately, it  is  exceptional.  A  cheerful,  sunny  tem- 
perament, that  rejoices  in  prosperity  and  makes 
the  best  of  adversity,  providing  against  ill-for- 
tune, but  not  anticipating  it,  is  a  happy  posses- 
sion. In  Mr.  Lincoln  his  morbid  feelings  were 
lighted  up  and  relieved  by  a  strong  sense  of  hu- 
mor, which  made  him  in  his  lighter  moments  a 
very  agreeable  companion. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

A   VISIT   TO    MR.    LINCOLN. 

BEFORE  proceeding  to  speak  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  as  President,  I  desire  that  my  read- 
ers may  know  him  as  well  as  possible,  and  for 
that  purpose  I  will  transcribe  an  account  of  a 
visit  to  him  by  a  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
Evening  Post.  I  find  it  in  D.  "W.  Bartlett's 
book,  entitled  "  The  Life  and  Public  Services  of 
Hon.  Abraham  Lincoln  ": 

"  It  had  been  reported  by  some  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
political  enemies  that  he  was  a  man  who  lived  in 
the  lowest  Hoosier  style,  and  I  thought  I  would  see 
for  myself.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as  the  business 
of  the  Convention  was  closed,  I  took  the  cars  for 
Springfield.  I  found  Mr.  Lincoln  living  in  a 
handsome,  but  not  pretentious,  double  two-story 
frame  house,  having  a  wide  hall  running  through 

the  center,  with  parlors  on  both  sides,  neatly,  but 

(191) 


192  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

not  ostentatiously  furnished.  It  was  jnst  such  a 
d '/veiling  as  a  majority  of  the  well-to-do  residents 
of  these  tine  Western  towns  occupy.  Everything 
about  it  had  a  look  of  comfort  and  independence. 
The  library  I  remarked  in  pa:sing  particularly, 
and  I  was  pleased  to  see  long  rows  of  books, 
which  told  of  the  scholarly  tastes  and  culture  of 
the  family. 

"  Lincoln  received  us  with  great,  and,  to  me,  sur- 
prising, urbanity.  I  had  seen  him  before  in  New 
York,  and  brought  with  mo  an  impression  of  his 
awkward  and  ungainly  manner;  but  in  his  own 
house,  where  he  doubtless  feels  himself  freer  than 
in  the  strange  New  Tork  circles,  he  had  thrown 
this  off,  and  appeared  easy  if  not  graceful. 

"  He  is,  as  you  know,  a  tall,  lank  man,  with  a 
long  neck,  and  his  ordinary  movements  are  un- 
usually angular,  even  out  West.  As  soon,  how- 
ever, as  he  gets  interested  in  conversation,  his  face 
lights  up,  and  his  attitudes  and  gestures  assume  a 
certain  dignity  and  impressiveness.  His  conver- 
sation is  fluent,  agreeable,  and  polite.  You  see 
at  once  from  it  that  he  is  a  man  of  decided  and 
original  character.  His  views  are  all  his  own ; 
such  as  he  has  worked  out  from  a  patient  and  va- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ried  scrutiny  of  life,  and  not  such  as  he  has  learn- 
ed from  others.  Yet  he  can  not  be  called  opin- 
ionated. He  listens  to  others  like  one  eager  to 
learn,  and  his  replies  evince  at  the  same  time  both 
modesty  and  self-reliance.  I  should  say  that 
sound  common-sense  was  the  principal  quality  of 
his  mind,  although  at  times  a  striking  phrase  or 
word  reveals  a  peculiar  vein  of  thought.  He  tells 
a  story  well,  with  a  strong  idiomatic  smack,  and 
seems  to  relish  humor,  both  in  himself  and  others. 
Our  conversation  was  mainly  political,  but  of  a 
general  nature.  One  thing  Mr.  Lincoln  remark- 
ed which  I  will  venture  to  repeat.  He  said  that 
in  the  coming  Presidential  canvass  he  was  wholly 
uncommitted  to  any  cabals  or  cliques,  and  that  he 
meant  to  keep  himself  free  from  them,  and  from 
all  pledges  and  promises. 

"  I  had  the  pleasure  also  of  a  brief  interview 
with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and,  in  the  circumstances  of 
thes2  persons,  I  trust  I  am  not  trespassing  on  the 
sanctities  of  private  life,  in  saying  a  word  in  re- 
gard to  that  lady.  Whatever  of  awkwardness 
may  be  ascribed  to  her  husband,  there  is  none  of 
it  in  her.  On  the  contrary,  she  is  quite  a  pattern 

of  liidylike  courtesy  and  polish.     She  converses 
13 


194:  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

with  freedom  and  grace,  and  is  thoroughly  au 
fait  in  all  the  little  amenities  of  society.  Mrs. 
Lincoln  belongs,  by  the  mother's  side,  to  the 
Preston  family  of  Kentucky  ;  has  received  a  liberal 
and  refined  education,  and,  should  she  ever  reach 
it,  will  adorn  the  White  House.  She  is,  I  ain 
told,  a  strict  and  consistent  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church. 

"  Not  a  man  of  us  who  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  but 
was  impressed  by  his  ability  and  character.  In 
illustration  of  the  last,  let  me  mention  one  or  two 
things  which  your  readers,  I  think,  will  be  pleased 
to  hear.  Mr.  Lincoln's  early  life,  as  you  know, 
was  passed  in  the  roughest  kind  of  experience  on 
the  frontier,  and  among  the  roughest  sort  of  peo- 
ple. Yet,  I  have  been  told,  that,  in  the  face  of 
all  these  influences,  he  is  a  strictly  temperate  man, 
never  using  wine  or  strong  drink,  and,  stranger 
still,  he  does  not  '  twist  the  filthy  weed,'  nor 
smoke,  nor  use  profane  language  of  any  kind. 
When  we  consider  how  common  these  vices  are 
all  over  our  country,  particularly  in  the  West,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  it  exhibits  no  little  strength 
of  character  to  have  refrained  from  them. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  is  popular  with  his  friends  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  195 

neighbors  ;  the  habitual  equity  of  his  mind  points 
him  out  as  a  peace-maker  and  composer  of  diffi- 
culties ;  his  integrity  is  proverbial ;  and  his  legal 
abilities  are  regarded  as  of  the  highest  order. 
The  sobriquet  of  *  Honest  Old  Abe '  has  been  won 
by  years  of  upright  conduct,  and  is  the  popular 
homage  to  his  probity.  He  carries  the  marks  of 
honesty  in  his  face  and  entire  deportment. 

"  I  am  the  more  convinced  by  this  personal  in- 
tercourse with  Mr.  Lincoln,  that  the  action  of  our 
Convention  was  altogether  j  udicious  and  proper." 

I  call  the  attention  of  rny  readers  to  what  is 
said  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  freedom  from  bad  habits  of 
every  kind,  though  brought  up  as  he  had  been, 
and  with  the  surroundings  of  his  early  life,  it 
would  have  been  natural  for  him  to  fall  into  them. 

During  Mr.  Lincoln's  visit  to  New  York,  he 
visited  the  Five  Points  House  of  Industry.  This 
was  probably  at  the  time  of  his  first  visit,  already 
referred  to,  when  he  made  an  address  at  the 
Cooper  Institute.  One  who  was  at  that  time  a 
teacher  in  the  House  of  Industry,  gives  this  ac- 
count of  the  visit : 

"  Our  Sunday-school  in  the  Five  Points  was  as- 
sembled one  Sabbath  morning,  a  few  months 


196  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

since,  when  I  noticed  a  tall  and  remarkable-look- 
ing man  enter  the  room  and  take  a  seat  among  us. 
He  listened  with  fixed  attention  to  our  exercises, 
and  his  countenance  manifested  such  genuine  in- 

O 

terest  that  I  approached  him  and  suggested  that 
he  might  bo  willing  to  say  something  to  the  chil- 
dren. 

"  He  accepted  the  invitation  with  evident 
pleasure,  and,  coming  forward,  began  a  simple  ad- 
dress, which  at  once  fascinated  every  little  hearer, 
and  hushed  the  room  into  silence.  His  language 
was  strikingly  beautiful,  and  his  tones  musical 
with  intensest  feeling.  The  little  faces  around 
would  droop  into  sad  conviction  as  he  uttered 
sentences  of  warning,  and  would  brighten  into 
sunshine  as  he  spoke  cheerful  words  of  promise. 
Once  or  twice  he  attempted  to  close  his  remarks, 
but  the  imperative  shouts  of  '  Go  on  ! '  '  Oh,  do 
go  on!'  would  compel  him  to  resume.  As  I 
looked  upon  the  gaunt  and  sinewy  frame  of  the 
stranger,  and  marked  his  powerful  head  and  de- 
termined features,  now  touched  into  softness  by 
the  impressions  of  the  moment,  I  felt  an  irre- 
pressible curiosity  to  learn  something  more  about 
him,  and  when  he  was  quietly  leaving  the  room, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  197 

I  begged  to  know  his  name.     He  courteously  re- 
plied : 

"  '  It  is  Abraham  Lincoln,  from  Illinois ! ' ' 
It  is  easy  to  understand  how  the  sight  of  these 
poor  children  should  have  touched  the  heart  of 
the  backwoods  boy.  Doubtless  they  recalled  to 
his  memory  his  own  neglected  childhood,  and  his 
early  privations,  when  he  was  not  in  a  position  to 
learn  even  as  well  as  thess  poor  waifs  from  the 
city  streets.  If  only  that  speech  could  have  been 
reported,  with  what  interest  would  we  read  it  to- 
day. It  must  have  been  instinct  with  sympathy 
to  have  made  such  a  powerful  impression  on  these 
poor  children  and  the  teacher  who  tells  the  story. 


CHAPTEE  XXII. 

THE    INAUGURATION. 

THERE  were  unusual  circumstances  attending 
the  close  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  journey  to  the  Capital. 
So  bitter  was  the  feeling  engendered  among  his 
opponents  that  plots  were  entered  into  against  his 
life.  Dr.  Holland  states  that  the  President-elect 
was  cognizant  of  his  danger.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  throw  the  train  off  the  track  on  which 
he  journeyed  from  Springfield.  There  was  a 
rumor  that  when  he  reached  Baltimore  conspira- 
tors would  surround  his  carriage  in  the  guise  of 
friends,  and  accomplish  his  assassination.  These 
reports  were  probably  exaggerated,  and  Mr.  La- 
mon  discredits  them  altogether,  but  it  is  likely 
that  they  were  well  founded.  At  any  rate,  meas- 
ures were  taken  to  ferret  out  the  conspiracy,  and, 
by  advice  of  General  Scott  and  Senator  Seward, 

then   in   Washington,   Mr.  Lincoln    quietly  left 
(193) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  199 

Harrisbnrg  by  a  speeial  train  in  advance  of  his 
party,  and  arrived  in  Washington  at  half-past  six 
in  the  morning,  when  no  one  expected  him  except 
those  who  had  arranged  this  deviation  from  the 
regular  programme.  The  moment  hs  left  Har- 
risbnrg the  telegraph  wires  were  cut,  so  that  intel- 
ligence of  his  departure  could  not  be  sent  to  a 
distance. 

It  was  strange  and  as  yet  unprecedented,  this 
S2eret  and  carefully-guarded  journey,  but  the  cir- 
cumstances seemed  to  make  it  necessary.  His 
friends  received  him  with  a  feeling  of  happy  re- 
lief, and,  as  the  morning  advanced,  and  it  was 
learned  that  he  was  in  the  city,  Washington  en- 
joyed a  ssnsation.  There  were  many  at  the  time 
who  ridiculed  the  fears  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends, 
and  disapproved  of  the  caution  which  counselled 
his  secret  arrival;  but  sad  events  that  have  since 
saddened  and  disgraced  the  nation,  show  that  both 
he  and  his  friends  were  wise.  The  assassination 
of  Lincoln  on  his  way  to  the  Capital  would  have 
had  far  more  disastrous  effects  than  the  unhappy 
tragedy  of  April,  1865,  and  might  have  estab- 
lished Jefferson  Davis  in  the  White  House. 
There  was  a  strong  disloyal  element  in  Wash- 


200       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

ington,  and  there  were  more  perhaps  who  re- 
garded Mr.  Lincoln  with  hostility  than  with  friend- 
ship, but  among  those  who  probably  were  heartily 
glad  to  hear  of  his  arrival  was  President  James 
Buchanan,  who  was  anxious  and  eager  to  lay 
down  the  sceptre,  and  transfer  his  high  office  to 
his  lawful  successor.  Timid  by  nature,  he  was 
not  the  pilot  to  guide  the  ship  of  State  in  a  storm. 
No  one  ever  more  willingly  retired  to  the  peace 
and  security  of  private  life. 

Indeed,  as  we  consider  the  condition  of  the 
country  and  the  state  of  public  feeling,  we  are 
disposed  rather  to  condole  with  the  new  President 
than  to  congratulate  him.  In  times  of  peace  and 
prosperity  the  position  of  Chief  Magistrate  is  a 
prize  worth  competing  for  ;  but,  in  1861,  even  a 
strong  man  and  experienced  statesman  might  well 
have  shrunk  from  assuming  its  duties. 

General  Winfield  .Scott  was  at  that  time  in 
military  command  of  Washington.  He  was  fear- 
ful that  the  inaugural  exercises  might  be  inter- 
rupted by  some  violent  demonstration,  and  made 
preparations  accordingly,  but  he  was  happily  dis- 
appointed. The  day  dawned  bright  and  clear. 
Washington  was  in  holiday  attire.  Business  was 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  20] 

generally  suspended,  and  there  was  an  unusual  in- 
terest to  hear  Mr.  Lincoln's  inaugural  address. 
Among  the  attentive  listeners  were  the  retiring 
President  and  Chief-Justice  Taney,  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  a  man  whose  sympathies  were  with 
the  slave  power.  It  was  a  creditable  and  note- 
worthy incident  of  this  memorable  occasion,  that 
among  the  friends  who  stood  by  Mr.  Lincoln  most 
staunchly,  even  holding  his  hat  as  he  delivered  his 
inaugural,  was  his  old  Senatorial  and  Presidential 
competitor,  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  Whatever,  his 
sentiments  were  on  the  issues  of  the  day,  he  was 
not  willing  to  side  with,  or  in  any  way  assist, 
those  who  menaced  the  national  existence.  An- 
other defeated  candidate,  Mr.  Breckinridge,  was 
present,  having  just  surrendered  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent's chair  to  Mr.  Hamliii.  It  was  a  scene  for 
an  artist.  There  could  be  no  more  striking  pict- 
ure than  one  which  should  faithfully  represent 
Abraham  Lincoln,  reading  his  iirst  inaugural  be- 
fore an  audience  of  representative  men,  half  of 
whom  were  hostile,  and  many  of  whom,  three 
months  later,  were  in  arms  against  the  Govern- 
ment. All  alike,  foes  as  well  as  friends,  were 
eager  to  hear  what  the  new  President  had  to  say. 


202  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Had  it  been  Seward  instead  of  Lincoln,  they 
could  have  formed  a  reasonable  conjecture,  but 
this  giant  from  the  Western  prairies ;  this  Back- 
woods Boy,  who  had  grown  to  maturity  under  the 
most  unpromising  circumstances  ;  this  man,  witli 
his  limited  experience  in  but  one  national  office, 
was  an  unknown  quantity  in  politics,  and  no  one 
knew  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  But  we  shall 
never  have  such  a  picture.  People  had  more  im- 
portant things  to  think  of  then,  and  it  is  too  late 
now.  In  a  time  of  intense  feeling,  when  the  na- 
tional existence  was  at  stake,  and  no  one  knsw 
what  events  the  next  week  would  bring  forth, 
there  was  little  taste  or  time  for  art. 

We,  too,  may  well  feel  interested  in  the  utter- 
ances of  the  President-elect.  I  should  be  glad  to 
quote  the  entire  address,  but  as  this  is  impractica- 
ble, I  will  make  a  few  significant  extracts : 

"  I  do  not  consider  it  necessary  at  present, 
said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  for  me  to  discuss  those  mat- 
ters of  administration  about  which  there  is  no 
special  anxiety  or  excitement.  Apprehensions 
seem  to  exist  among  the  people  of  the  Southern 
States,  that,  by  the  accession  of  a  Republican  ad- 
ministration, their  property  and  their  peace  and 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  203 

personal  security  are  to  be  endangered.  There 
has  never  been  any  reasonable  cause  for  such  ap- 
prehension. Indeed,  the  most  ample  evidence  to 
the  contrary  has  all  the  while  existed,  and  been 
open  to  their  inspection.  It  is  found  in  nearly  all 
the  published  speeches  of  him  who  now  ad- 
dresses you.  I  do  but  quote  from  one  of  those 
speeches,  when  I  declare  that  '  I  have  no  purpose, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  interfere  with  the  insti- 
tution of  slavery  in  the  States  where  it  exists.'  I 
believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so ;  and  I 
have  no  inclination  to  do  so.  Those  who  nomi- 
nated and  elected  me  did  so  with  the  full  knowl- 
edge that  I  had  made  this,  and  made  many  simi- 
lar declarations,  and  had  never  recanted  them." 

Further  on  he  says : 

"  It  is  seventy-two  years  to-day  since  the  first 
inauguration  of  a  President  under  our  national 
Constitution.  During  that  period  fifteen  different 
and  very  distinguished  citizens  have,  in  succession, 
administered  the  executive  branch  of  the  Govern- 
ment. They  have  conducted  it  through  many 
perils,  and  generally  with  great  success.  Yet, 
with  all  this  scope  for  precedent,  I  now  enter 
upon  the  same  task,  for  the  brief  constitutional 


204  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

term  of  four  years,  under  great  and  peculiar 
difficulties. 

"  A  disruption  of  the  Federal  Union,  hereto- 
fore only  menaced,  is  now  formidably  attempted. 
I  hold  that  in  the  contemplation  of  universal  law 
and  of  the  Constitution,  the  union  of  these  States 
is  perpetual.  Perpetuity  is  implied,  if  not  ex- 
pressed, in  the  fundamental  law  of  all  national 
governments.  It  is  cafe  to  assert  that  no  govern- 
ment proper  ever  had  a  provision  in  its  organic 
law  for  its  own  termination.  Continue  to  exe- 
cute all  the  express  provisions  of  our  national 
Constitution,  and  the  Union  will  endure  forever, 
it  being  impossible  to  destroy  it  except-  by  some 
action  not  provided  for  in  the  instrument  itself. 

"It  follows  from  these  views  that  no  State, 
upon  its  own  mere  motion,  can  lawfully  get  out 
of  the  Union  ;  that  resolves  and  ordinances  to 
that  effect  are  legally  void ;  and  that  acts  of  vio- 
lence within  any  State  or  States  against  the  au- 
thority of  the  United  States  are  insurrectionary 
or  revolutionary,  according  to  circumstances. 

"  I  therefore  consider  that,  in  view  of  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  laws,  the  Union  is  unbroken, 
and,  to  the  extent  of  my  ability,  I  shall  take  care, 


ABRAIIA. M  LINCOLN.  205 

as  the  Constitution  itself  expressly  enjoins  upon 
me,  that  the  laws  of  the  Union  shall  be  faithfully 
executed  in  all  tho  States.  Doing  this,  which  1 
deem  to  be  only  a  simple  duty  on  my  part,  I  shall 
perfectly  perform  it,  so  far  as  is  practicable,  un- 
less my  rightful  masters,  the  American  people, 
shall  withhold  the  requisition,  or  in  some  author- 
itative manner  direct  the  contrary. 

"  I  trust  this  will  not  be  regarded  as  a  menace, 
but  only  as  the  declared  purpose  of  the  Union, 
th  it  it  will  constitutionally  defend  and  maintain 
itself." 

After  arguing  at  some  length  against  separa- 
lion,  Mr.  Lincoln  closes  his  address  with  an  ap- 
peal to  his  fellow-citizens : 

"My  countrymen,  one  and  all,  think  calmly 
and  well  upon  this  whole  subject.  Nothing  val- 
uable can  be  lost  by  taking  time. 

"  If  there  be  an  object  to  hurry  any  of  you,  in 
hot  haste,  to  a  step  which  you  would  never  take 
deliberately,  that  object  will  be  frustrated  by  tak- 
ing time;  but  no  good  object  can  be  frustrated 
by  it. 

"  Such  of  you  as  are  now  dissatisfied  still  have 


20G       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

the  old  Constitution  unimpaired,  and,  on  the  sen- 
sitive point,  the  laws  of  your  own  framing,  under 
it ;  while  the  new  administration  will  have  no  im- 
mediate power,  if  it  would,  to  change  either. 

"  If  it  were  admitted  that  you  who  are  dissat- 
isfied hold  the  right  side  in  the  dispute,  there  is 
still  no  single  reason  for  precipitate  action.  In- 
telligence, patriotism,  Christianity,  and  a  firm  re- 
liance on  Him  who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this 
favored  land,  are  still  competent  to  adjust,  in  the 
best  way,  all  our  present  difficulties. 

"  In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-country- 
men, and  not  in  mine,  is  the  momentous  issue  of 
civil  war.  The  Government  will  not  assail  you. 

"  You  can  have  no  conflict  without  being  your- 
selves the  aggressors.  You  have  no  oath  regis- 
tered in  heaven  to  destroy  the  Government,  while 
I  shall  have  the  most  solemn  one  to  '  preserve, 
protect,  and  defend  '  it. 

"  I  am  loth  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but 
friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  pas- 
sion may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break  our 
bonds  of  affection. 

"  The  mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  £07 

every  battle-field  and  patriotic  grave  to  every 
living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad 
land,  Mill  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union, 
when  again  touched,  as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the 
better  angeis  of  our  nature." 


CHAPTER  XX1I1. 

THE    WAR   BEGINS. 

No  President  ever  assumed  office  under  such 
circumstances  as  Abraham  Lincoln.  Nominally 
chief  magistrate  of  the  whole  United  States, 
seven  members  of  the  confederation  had  already 
seceded.  These  were  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  Texas,  Florida,  and  Louis- 
iana. Some  had  been  hurried  out  of  the  Union 
by  a  few  hot-headed  politicians,  against  the  wishes 
of  a  considerable  part  of  their  inhabitants.  It  is 
known  that  General  Lee  and  Alexander  II. 
Stephens,  though  they  ultimately  went  with  their 
States,  were  exceedingly  reluctant  to  array  them- 
selves in  opposition  to  the  Government. 

Mr.  Stephens  used  these  patriotic  words  in  an 
address  before  the  Legislature  of  Georgia,  Nov. 
14, 1860,  after  the  result  of  the  election  was  made 

known :  "  The  firs';  question  that  presents  itsolf 

(208) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  209 

is,  shall  the  people  of  the  South  secede  from  the 
Union  in  consequence  of  the  election  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln to  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States  ?  My 
countrymen,  I  tell  you  candidly,  frankly,  and 
earnestly  that  I  do  not  think  that  they  ought.  In 
my  judgment  the  election  of  no  man,  constitu- 
tionally chosen  to  that  high  office,  is  sufficient 
cause  for  any  State  to  separate  from  the  Union. 
It  ought  to  stand  by  and  aid  still  in  maintaining 
the  Constitution  of  the  country.  To  make  a  point 
of  resistance  to  the  Government,  to  withdraw  from 
it  because  a  man  has  been  constitutionally  elected, 

puts  us  in  the  wrong We  went  into  the 

election  with  this  people.  The  result  was  differ- 
ent from  what  we  wished ;  but  the  election  has 
been  constitutionally  held.  Were  we  to  make  a 
point  of  resistance  to  the  Government,  and  go 
out  of  the  Union  on  this  account,  the  record 
would  be  made  up  hereafter  against  us." 

These  wise  and  moderate  counsels  did  not  pre- 
vail. There  was  a  feeling  of  bitterness  which  im- 
pelled Southern  men  to  extreme  measures.  More- 
over, the  temper  and  firmness  of  the  North  were 
misunderstood.  It  was  thought  they  would  make 

the  most  humiliating  concessions  to  preserve  the 
14 


210       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

integrity  of  the  Union,  while  on  the  other  hand 
the  constancy  and  determination  of  the  Southern 
people  were  not  sufficiently  appreciated  at  the 
North. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  first  necessary  act  was  to  make 
choice  of  a  Cabinet.  He  demonstrated  his  sa- 
gacity in  surrounding  himself  with  trained  and 
experienced  statesmen,  as  will  be  seen  at  once  by 
the  following  list : 

Secretary  of  State,  William  H.  Seward,  of  New 
York;  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  of  Ohio ;  Secretary  of  "War,  Simon  Cam- 
eron, of  Pennsylvania ;  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
Gideon  Welles,  of  Connecticut;  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  Caleb  B.  Smith,  of  Indiana ;  Post- 
master-General, Montgomery  Blair,  of  Maryland  ; 
Attorney-General,  Edward  Bates,  of  Missouri. 

These  gentlemen  were  confirmed,  and  entered 
upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  Thus  the 
new  Administration  was  complete.  Simon  Cam- 
eron, as  Secretary  of  War,  was  superseded  in  less 
than  a  year  by  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  who  proved 
to  be  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  A  man 
of  remarkable  executive  talent,  never  shrinking 
from  the  heavy  burden  of  labor  and  care  which 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

his  office  imposed,  he  worked  indefatigably,  and 
though  he  may  have  offended  some  by  his  brusque 
manners,  and  unnecessary  sternness,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  a  better  man  could  Lave  been  selected 
for  his  post.  He  had  been  a  member  of  Mr. 
Buchanan's  Cabinet  in  its  last  days,  and  did  what 
he  could  to  infuse  something  of  his  own  vigor 
into  the  timid  and  vacillating  Executive. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Lincoln  called  to  the 
most  important  place  in  the  Cabinet  the  man  who 
was  his  most  prominent  rival  for  the  nomination, 
William  II.  Seward.  In  doing  this  he  strength- 
ened his  administration  largely  in  the  minds  of 
the  people  at  large,  for  who  was  there  who  was 
ignorant  of  Mr.  Seward's  great  ability  and  states- 
manship? It  may  be  remarked  here  that  the 
new  President  left  to  each  of  his  Secretaries  large 
discretion  in  their  respective  departments,  and 
did  not  interfere  with  or  overrule  them  except  in 
cases  of  extreme  necessity.  A  man  of  smaller 
nature  would  have  gratified  his  vanity  and  sense 
of  importance  by  meddling  with,  and  so  marring 
the  work  of  his  constitutional  advisers;  but  hav- 
ing selected  the  best  men  he  could  find,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln left  them  free  to  act,  and  held  them  respon- 


212  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

sible  for  the  successful  management  of  their  de- 
partments. 

The  new  President  was  not  long  left  in  uncer- 
tainty as  to  the  intentions  of  the  seceding  States. 
On  the  13th  of  March  he  received  a  communica- 
tion from  two  gentlemen,  claiming  to  be  com- 
missioners from  a  government  composed  of  the 
seven  seceding  States,  expressing  a  desire  to  enter 
upon  negotiations  for  the  adjustment  of  all  ques- 
tions growing  out  of  the  separation.  To  have  re- 
ceived them  would  have  been  to  admit  the  fact 
and  right  of  secession,  and  therefore  their  request 
was  denied.  On  the  llth  of  April,  General 
Beauregard,  in  accordance  with  instructions  from 
the  rebel  Secretary  of  War,  demanded  of  Major 
Anderson,  in  command  at  Fort  Sumter,  the  sur- 
render of  the  fort.  Major  Anderson  declined, 
but  was  compelled  to  do  so  on  the  morning  of  the 
4th,  after  a  bombardment  of  thirty-three  hours. 
Thus  the  South  had  taken  the  initiative,  and  had 
made  an  armed  attack  upon  the  Government. 
Thus  far  the  President  had  pursued  a  conciliatory 
— some  thought  it  a  timid — policy,  but  when  he 
heard  that  Sumter  had  been  taken  forcible 
possession  of  by  rebellious  citizens,  he  felt  that 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  213 

there  was  no  more  room  for  hesitation.  The  time 
had  covr.e  to  act. 

On  the  day  succeeding  the  evacuation  of  the 
fort,  he  issued  a  proclamation  calling  for  75,000 
soldiers  to  recover  possession  of  the  "  forts,  places, 
and  property  which  have  been  seized  from  the 
Union,"  and  at  the  same  time  summoned  an  extra 
session  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  to  assemble 
on  Thursday,  the  fourth  day  of  July,  "  to  con- 
sider and  determine  such  measures  as,  in  their 
wisdom,  the  public  safety  and  interest  may  seem 
to  demand." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  evacuation  of  Fort 
Sumter,  and  the  President's  proclamation,  created 
a  whirlwind  of  excitement.  The  South  was  jubi- 
lant, the  North  was  deeply  stirred,  and  the  procla* 
mation  was  generally  approved  and  promptly 
responded  to.  These  spirited  lines  of  the  poet 
Whittier  are  well  called 

THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NORTH. 

Up  the  hill-side,  down  the  glen 
House  the  sleeping  citizen  ; 
Summon  out  the  might  of  men ! 

Like  a  lion  growling  low — 
Like  a  night-storm  rising  slow — 
Like  the  tread  of  unseen  foe — 


214  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

It  is  coming — it  is  nigh  ! 
Stand  your  homes  and  altars  by, 
On  your  own  free  threshold  die ! 

Clang  the  bells  in  all  your  spires, 
On  the  grey  hills  of  your  sires 
Fling  to  heaven  your  signal  fires  I 

Oh  !  for  God  and  duty  stand, 
Heart  to  heart,  and  hand  to  hand, 
Round  the  old  graves  of  the  land. 

Who  so  shrinks  or  falters  now, 
Who  so  to  the  yoke  would  bow, 
Brand  the  craven  on  his  brow. 

Freedom's  so  1  has  only  place 
For  a  free  and  fearless  race — 
None  for  traitors  false  and  base. 

Perish  party — perish  clan, 
Strike  together  while  you  can, 
Like  the  strong  arm  of  one  man. 

Like  the  angel's  voice  sublime, 
Heard  above  a  world  of  crime, 
Crying  for  the  end  of  Time. 

With  one  heart  and  with  one  mouth 
Let  the  North  spe  ik  to  the  South; 
Speak  the  word  befitting  both. 

In  contrast  with  this,  I  will  cite  a  poem,  which 
might  be  called,  not  inappropriately, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOL&'.  215 

THE  VOICE  OF  THE  SOUTH. 

Rebels !  'tis  a  holy  name  ! 

The  name  our  fathers  bore, 
When  battling  in  the  cause  of  Right 
Against  the  tyrant  in  his  might, 

In  the  dark  days  of  yore. 

Rebels !  'tis  our  family  name ! 

Our  father,  Washington, 
Wa?  the  arch  rebel  in  the  fight, 
And  gave  the  name  to  us — aright 

Of  father  unto  son. 

Rebels !  'tis  our  given  name  ! 

Our  mother  Liberty 
Received  the  title  with  her  fame, 
In  days  of  grief,  of  fear  and  s'^ame, 

When  at  her  breast  were  we. 

Rebels!  'tis  our  sealed  name! 

A  baptism  of  blood  ! 
The  war — ay,  and  the  diu  of  strife — 
The  fearful  contest,  life  for  life — 

The  mingled  crim  on  flood  ! 

Rebels !  'tis  a  patriot's  name  ! 

In  struggles  it  was  given  ; 
We  bore  it  then"  -when  tyrant-;  raved, 
And  through  their  curses  'twas  engraved 

On  the  doomsday  book  of  heaven. 


Rebels!  'tis  our  fighting  name! 
For  peace  rules  o'er  the  laud, 


216  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Until  they  speak  of  craven  woe — 

Until  our  rights  received  a  blow, 

From  foes'  or  brother's  hand. 

Rebels !  'tis  our  dying  name  ! 

For  although  life  is  dear, 
Yet  freemen  born  and  freeanen  bred, 
We'd  rather  live  as  freemen  dead 

Than  live  in  slavish  fear. 

Then  call  us  Rebels  if  you  will — 

We  glory  in  the  name ; 
For  bending  under  unjust  laws, 
And  swearing  faith  to  an  iinjust  cause, 

We  count  a  greater  shame. 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

MR.    LINCOLN   JN   THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

AND  thus  commenced  the  great  war  of  the  He- 
oellion — a  war  which  in  some  respects  has  never 
had  its  parallel.  Commencing  but  a  few  weeks 
after  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  began,  it  was 
at  its  last  gasp  when  upon  the  4th  of  March, 
1865,  he  was  for  the  second  time  inaugurated. 

If  I  were  to  write  a  full  account  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's administration,  it  must  include  a  history 
of  the  war.  I  propose  to  do  neither.  As  my 
title  imports,  I  have  aimed  only  to  show  by  what 
steps  a  backwoods  boy,  born  and  brought  up  on 
the  Western  prairies,  with  the  smallest  possible 
advantages  of  education  and  fortune,  came  to 
stand  in  the  foremost  place  among  his  fellow- 
citizens.  I  might,  therefore,  consider  my  task 
accomplished;  but,  if  I  sliould  stop  here,  I 

should  have  failed  to  set  forth  fully  the  charac- 

(217) 


218  3072IOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

ter  and  traits  of  this  remarkable  man  ;  for  it  was 
only  in  the  years  of  his  Presidency  that  the  world, 
and,  I  may  add,  his  friends,  came  to  know  him  as 
he  was.  I  doubt  even  if  he  knew  himself  until 
the  responsibilities  of  office  fell  upon  him  ;  and,  un- 
der the  burden,  he  expanded  to  the  full  stature  of 
a  providential  man.  There  are  some  aspects  in 
which  I  shall  consider  him,  and,  in  the  incidents 
and  anecdotes  I  may  have  to  relate,  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  preserve  the  order  of  time. 

First,  then,  the  consciousness  of  official  rank 
never  appeared  present  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  In  the 
White  House,  as  in  his  modest  Western  home,  he 
was  the  same  plain,  unpretending  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. Nor  did  he  lose  his  sympathy  for  the  humble 
class  from  which  he  had  himself  sprung.  Upon 
this  point  I  quote  from  Mr.  F.  B.  Carpenter's  very 
interesting  volume,  already  referred  to  : 

"  The  Hon.  Mr.  Odell  gave  me  a  deeply  inter- 
esting incident  which  occurred  in  the  winter  of 
1864  at  one  of  the  most  crowded  of  the  Presiden- 
tial levees,  illustrating  very  perfectly  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's true  politeness  and  delicacy  of  feeling. 

"  On  the  occasion  referred  to  the  pressure  be- 
came so  great  that  the  usual  ceremony  of  hand- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

shaking  was  for  once  discontinued.  The  Presi- 
dent had  been  standing  for  some  time,  bowing 
his  acknowledgments  to  the  thronging  multi- 
tude, when  his  eye  fell  upon  a  couple  who  had 
entered  unobserved — a  wounded  soldier  and  his 
plainly-dressed  mother.  Before  they  could  pass 
out  he  made  his  way  to  where  they  stood,  and, 
taking  each  of  them  by  the  hand,  with  a  delicacy 
and  cordiality  which  brought  tears  to  many  eyes, 
he  assured  them  of  his  interest  and  welcome. 
Governors,  Senators,  and  diplomats  passed  with 
simply  a  nod ;  but  that  pale,  young  face  he 
might  never  see  again.  To  him  and  to  others 
like  him  did  the  nation  owe  his  life;  and  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  was  not  the  man  to  forget  this,  even 
in  the  crowded  and  brilliant  assembly  of  the  dis- 
tinguished of  the  land." 

"  Mr.  Lincoln's  heart  was  always  open  to  chil- 
dren," says  the  same  writer.  u  I  shall  never  for- 
get his  coming  into  the  studio  one  day  and  find- 
ing my  own  little  boy  of  two  summers  playing 
on  the  floor.  A  member  of  the  Cabinet  was  with 
him,  but,  laying  aside  all  restraint,  he  took  the 
little  fellow  at  once  in  his  arms,  and  they  were 
soon  on  the  best  of  terms. 


220  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"Old  Daniel  gave  me  a  touching  illustration 
of  this  element  in  his  character.  A  poor  woman 
from  Philadelphia  had  been  waiting  with  a  baby 
in  her  arms  for  several  days  to  see  the  President. 
It  appeared  by  her  story  that  her  husband  had  fur- 
nished a  substitute  for  the  army,  but  some  time 
afterward,  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  was  induced 
to  enlist.  When  reaching  the  post  assigned  his 
regiment  he  deserted,  thinking  the  Government 
was  not  entitled  to  his  services.  Returning  home 
he  was  arrested,  tried,  convicted,  and  sentenced 
to  be  shot.  The  sentence  was  to  be  executed 
on  a  Saturday.  On  Monday  his  wife  left  her 
home  with  her  baby  to  endaavor  to  see  the 
President. 

"  Said  Daniel,  '  She  had  been  waiting  here 
three  days,  and  there  was  no  chance  for  her  to 
get  in.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day, 
the  President  was  going  through  the  passage  to 
his  private  room  to  get  a  cup  of  tea.  On  the  way 
he  heard  the  baby  cry.  He  instantly  went  back 
to  his  office  and  rang  the  bell. 

"  '  "  Daniel,"  said  he,  "  is  there  a  woman  with 
a  baby  in  the  anteroom  ? " 

" '  I  said  there  was,  and  if  he  would  allow  me 


A TtUA  HAM  LINCOLN.  221 

to  say  it,  it  was  a  case  he  ought  to  see ;  for  it  was 
a  matter  of  life  and  death. 

"  '  "  Send  her  to  me  at  once,"  said  he. 

"  '  She  went  in,  told  her  story,  and  the  Presi- 
dent pardoned  her  husband.  As  the  woman 
came  out  from  his  presence  her  eyes  were  lifted 
and  her  lips  moving  in  prayer,  the  tears  streaming 
down  her  cheeks.'  Said  Daniel,  *I  went  up  to 
her,  and,  pulling  her  shawl,  said,  "Madam,  it 
was  the  baby  that  did  it." ' " 

It  may  readily  be  supposed  that  a  man  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  democratic  tastes  and  training  might 
on  some  occasions  act  very  unconventionally, 
and  in  a  way  to  shock  those  who  are  sticklers  for 
etiquette.  Certainly,  he  was  very  far  from  aping 
royalty,  as  may  be  judged  from  the  following  in- 
cident : 

When  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  betrothed  to 
the  Princess  Alexandra,  Queen  Yictoria  an- 
nounced the  fact  to  each  of  the  European  sover- 
eigns and  to  the  rulers  of  other  countries  by  an 
autograph  letter.  Lord  Lyons,  the  British  am- 
bassador at  Washington,  who  was  a  bachelor, 
called  upon  President  Lincoln  to  present  this  im~ 
portant  document  in  person. 


222       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  May  it  please  your  Excellency,"  said  the  am- 
bassador, with  formal  dignity,  '*'!  hold  in  my 
hand  an  autograph  letter  from  my  royal  mis- 
tress, Queen  Victoria,  which  I  have  been  com- 
manded to  present  to  your  Excellency.  In  it  she 
informs  your  Excellency  that  her  son,  His  Royal 
Highness,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  is  about  to  con- 
tract a  matrimonial  alliance  with  Her  Hoyal 
Highness,  the  Princess  Alexandra,  of  Denmark." 

The  President's  eye  twinkled  as  he  answered, 
briefly,  "  Lord  Lyons,  go  thou  and  do  likewise.51 

Says  Dr.  Holland  :  ""Mr.  Lincoln's  habits  at  the 
White  House  were  as  simple  as  they  were  at  his 
old  home  in  Illinois.  He  never  alluded  to  him- 
self as  '  President,'  or  as  occupying  '  the  Presi- 
dency.' His  office  he  always  designated  as  '  this 
place.'  '  Call  me  Lincoln,'  said  he  to  a  friend. 
'Mr.  President'  had  become  so  very  tiresome  to 
him.  'If  you  see  a  newsboy  down  the  street, 
send  him  up  this  way,'  said  he  to  a  passenger  as 
he  stood  waiting  for  the  morning  news  at  his 
gate. 

"  Friends  cautioned  him  against  exposing  him- 
self so  openly  in  the  midst  of  enemies,  but  he  never 
heeded  them.  He  frequently  walked  the  streets  at 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  223 

night  entirely  unprotected,  and  he  felt  any  check 
upon  his  free  movements  as  a  great  annoyance.  He 
delighted  to  see  his  familiar  Western  friends,  and 
he  gave  them  always  a  cordial  welcome.  He  met 
them  on  the  old  footing,  and  fell  at  once  into  the 
accustomed  habits  of  talking  and  story-telling. 
An  old  acquaintance  with  his  wife  visited  Wash- 
ington. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  proposed  to  these 
friends  a  ride  in  the  Presidential  carriage.  It 
should  he  stated  in  advance  that  the  two  men 
had  probably  never  seen  each  other  with  gloves 
on  in  their  lives,  unless  when  they  were  used  as 
protection  from  the  cold.  The  question  of  each 
— Mr.  Lincoln  at  the  White  House  and  his  friend 
at  the  hotel — was  whether  he  should  wear  gloves. 
Of  course,  the  ladies  urged  gloves ;  but  Mr.  Lin- 
coln only  put  his  in  his  pocket,  to  be  used  or  not, 
according  to  circumstances. 

"  When  the  Presidential  party  arrived  at  the 
hotel  to  take  in  their  friends,  they  found  the  gen- 
tleman, overcome  by  his  wife's  persuasions,  very 
handsomely  gloved.  The  moment  he  took  his 
seat  he  began  to  draw  off  the  clinging  kids,  while 
Mr.  Lincoln  began  to  draw  his  on. 

"  ;  No,  no,  no  ! '  protested  his  friend,  tugging 


224  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

at  liis  gloves ;  '  it  is  none  of  my  doings.  Put  up 
your  gloves,  Mr.  Lincoln.'  , 

"  So  the  two  old  friends  were  on  even  and  easy 
terms,  and  had  their  ride  after  their  old  fashion." 

The  President  of  the  United  States  can  afford 
to  be  more  unconventional  than  kings  and  em- 
perors, but  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that 
they  too,  at  times,  would  be  glad  to  escape  from 
the  rigid  rules  of  etiquette  and  enjoy  the  freedom 
of  a  private  citizen.  Even  Queen  Victoria,  it  is 
related,  can  unbend  when  she  meets  her  early 
friends,  and  forget  for  the  time  that  she  must 
maintain  the  dignity  of  a  Queen. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

MR.    LINCOLN    AND    THE    LITTLE    BOY — A    GROUP    OF 
ANECDOTE?. 

EX-GOVERNOR  RICE,  of  Massachusetts,  tells  a 
story  of  President  Lincoln,  which  will  prove  of 
especial  interest  to  my  young  readers.  I  tran- 
scribe it  from  the  Union  Signal  : 

On  an  occasion  (while  he  was  in  Congress)  he 
and  Senator  Wilson  found  it  necessary  to  visit 
the  President  on  business,  he  says : 

"  "We  were  obliged  to  wait  some  time  in  the 
anteroom  before  we  could  be  received ;  and,  when 
at  length  the  door  was  opened  to  us,  a  small  lad, 
perhaps  ten  or  twelve  years  old,  who  had  been 
waiting  for  admission  several  days  without  suc- 
cess, slipped  in  between  us,  and  approached  the 
President  in  advance. 

"  The  latter  gave  the  Senator  and  myself  a 
15  (225) 


226  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OP 

cordial  but  brief  salutation,  and  turning  imme- 
diately to  the  lad,  said,  'And  who  is  the  little 
boy?' 

"  During  their  conference  the  Senator  and  my- 
self were  apparently  forgotten.  The  boy  soon 
told  his  story,  which  was  in  substance  that  he  had 
come  to  Washington  seeking  employment  as  a 
page  ip  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  he 
wished  the  President  to  give  him  such  an  ap- 
pointment. To  this  the  President  replied  that 
such  appointments  were  not  at  his  disposal,  and 
that  application  must  be  made  to  the  door-keeper 
of  the  House  at  the  Capitol. 

"'But,  sir,'  said  the  lad,  still  undaunted,  '  I  am 
a  good  boy,  and  have  a  letter  from  my  mother, 
and  one  from  the  supervisors  of  my  town,  and 
one  from  my  Sunday-school  teacher ;  they  all 
told  me  that  I  could  earn  enough  in  one  session  of 
Congress  to  keep  my  mother  and  the  rest  of  us 
comfortable  all  the  remainder  of  the  year.' 

"  The  President  took  the  lad's  papers  and  ran 
his  eye  over  them  with  that  penetrating  and  ab- 
sorbent look  so  familiar  to  all  who  knew  him,  and 
then  took  his  pen  and  wrote  upon  the  back  of  one 
of  them,  '  If  Capt.  Goodnow  can  give  a  place  to 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  £27 

this  good   little  boy,  I  shall  be  gratified,'   and 
signed  it  'A.  Lincoln.' 

"  The  boy's  face  became  radiant  with  hope,  and 
he  walked  out  of  the  room  with  a  step  as  light  as 
though  all  the  angels  were  whispering  their  con- 
gratulations. 

"  Only  after  the  lad  had  gone  did  the  President 
seem  to  realize  that  a  Senator  and  another  person 
had  been  for  some  time  waiting  to  see  him. 

"Think  for  a  moment  of  the  President  of  a 
great  nation,  and  that  nation  engaged  in  one  of 
the  most  terrible  wars  waged  against  men,  him- 
self worn  down  with  anxiety  and  labor,  subjected 
to  the  alternations  of  success  and  defeat,  racked 
by  complaints  of  the  envious,  the  disloyal,  and  the 
unreasonable,  pressed  to  the  decision  of  grave 
questions  of  public  policy,  and  encumbered  by 
the  numberless  and  nameless  incidents  of  civil 
and  martial  responsibility,  yet  able  so  far  to  for- 
get them  all  as  to  give  himself  up  for  the  time 
being  to  the  errand  of  a  little  boy,  who  had 
braved  an  interview  uninvited,  and  of  whom  he 
knew  nothing,  but  that  he  had  a  story  to  tell  of 
his  mother  and  of  his  ambition  to  serve  her." 
Of  a  different  character,  but  equally  character- 


228       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

istic  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  is  a  story  told  by  General 
Charles  G.  Dahlgren,  brother  of  Admiral  Dahl- 
gron : 

"As  Mr.  Lincoln  and  my  brother  were  about 
to  go  to  dinner,  and  while  the  President  was 
washing  his  hands,  Secretary  Stan  ton  entered  ex- 
citedly with  a  telegram  in  his  hand  and  said,  '  Mr. 
President,  I  have  just  received  a  dispatch  from 
Portland  that  Jake  Thompson  is  there  waiting  to 
take  the  steamer  to  England  and  I  want  to  arrest 
him.'  Mr.  Lincoln  began  to  wipe  his  hands  on  a 
towel,  and  said,  in  a  long,  drawling  voice,  '  Bet- 
ter let  him  slide.' 

"'But,  Mr.  President,'  said  Secretary  Stanton, 
'  this  man  is  one  of  the  chief  traitors — was  one  of 
Buchanan's  Cabinet,  betrayed  the  country  then, 
and  has  fought  against  us  ever  since.  He  should 
be  punished.' 

" '  W-e-1-1,'  said  the  President,  <  if  Jake  Thomp. 
son  is  satisfied  with  the  issue  of  the  war,  I  am. 
B-e-t-t-e-r  let  him  slide.' 

" '  Such  men  should  be  punished  to  the  full  ex- 
tent of  the  law,'  said  Mr.  Stanton.  '  Why,  if  we 
don't  punish  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  what 
shall  wa  say  to  their  followers  ? ' 


A1UIAITAM  LTNCOLy.  229 

"  B-e-t-t-e-r  let  them  slide,  Stanton,'  said  the 
President,  laying  aside  his  towel. 

"Mr.  Stanton  went  out,  evidently  annoyed, 
and  Mr.  Lincoln,  turning  to  ray  brother,  said : 
'  Dahl,  that  is  one  of  the  things  I  don't  intend 
to  allow.  When  the  war  is  over,  I  want  it  to 
stop,  and  let  both  sides  go  to  work  and  heal  the 
wounds,  which,  Heaven  knows,  are  bad  enough  ; 
but  jogging  and  pulling  them  is  not  the  best  way 
to  heal  a  sore.' 

"And  the  old  General,  turning  to  his  work, 
said,  with  a  sigh, '  If  that  policy  had  been  carried 
out,  the  wounds  would  have  healed  long  ago.' " 

The  following  story,  told  by  M.  J.  Ramsdell, 
shows  that  Mr.  Lincoln  judged  men  sometimes 
by  their  spirit  rather  than  their  military  qualifica- 
tions : 

"A  sergeant  of  infantry,  whom  I  shall  call 
Dick  Gower,  commanded  his  company  in  a  great 
many  battles  in  the  West  in  the  early  days  of  the 
war.  His  company  officers  had  all  been  killed, 
but  right  royally  did  Dick  handle  his  men.  At 
the  first  lull  in  the  campaign,  the  officers  of  his 
regiment,  of  his  brigade,  and  of  his  division, 
united  in  recommending  him  for  a  lieutenancy 


230  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

in  the  regular  army.  The  commanding  officer 
joined  in  the  recommendation.  Mr.  Lincoln  or- 
dered the  appointment.  Forthwith,  Sergeant 
Dick  was  ordered  before  an  examining  board 
here  in  Washington,  for  the  regular  army  officers 
were  tenacious  of  what  they  thought  their 
superiority.  Dick  presented  himself  in  a  soiled 
and  faded  sergeant's  uniform,  his  face  and  hands 
bronzed  and  cracked  by  the  winds  and  suns  of  a 
hot  campaign. 

"The  curled  darling  of  Washington  society, 
the  perfumed  graduates  of  West  Point,  who  had 
never  seen  a  squadron  set  in  the  field,  conducted 
the  examination  to  ascertain  if  Dick  was  n't  to  be 
an  officer  in  the  regular  army.  They  asked  him 
questions  as  to  engineering,  mathematics,  philos- 
ophy, and  ordnance,  of  harbor  warfara,  of  field 
campaigns,  and  all  such  stuff.  Not  a  single  ques- 
tion could  Dick  answer.  '  What  is  an  echelon  ? ' 
was  asked.  '  I  don't  know,'  answered  Dick ;  '  I 
never  saw  one.'  '  What  is  an  abbattis  ? '  was  the 
next  question  ?  Dick  answered  :  '  You've  got  me 
again.  We  haven't  got  'em  in  the  West.'  '  Well, 
what  is  a  hollow  square  ? '  continued  his  torment- 
ors. '  Don't  know,'  said  Dick  sorrowfully  ;  '  I 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  231 

never  heard  of  one.'  '  Well,'  finally  said  a  young 
snip  in  eye-glasses,  '  what  would  you  do  in  com- 
mand of  a  company  if  the  cavalry  should  charge 
on  you  ? '  They  had  at  last  got  down  to  Dick's 
comprehension,  and  he  answered  with  a  resolute 
face  and  a  flashing  eye,  'I'd  give  them  Jesse, 
that's  what  I'd  do,  and  I'd  make  a  hollow  square 
in  every  mother's  son  of  them.'  A  few  more 
technical  questions  were  asked,  but  poor  Dick 
was  not  able  to  answer  them,  and  the  examina- 
tion closed. 

"  The  report  was  duly  sent  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  who  submitted  it  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  saying 
that  evidently  Dick  would  not  do  for  an  officer. 
Mr.  Lincoln,  when  through  with  the  report,  and 
found  that  Dick  had  not  answered  a  single  ques- 
tion, but  he  came  to  where  Dick  said  what  he 
would  do  if  attacked  by  cavalry,  and  then  he  did 
what  sensible  Abe  Lincoln  did  in  all  such  matters, 
he  threw  the  report  on  his  table  and  made  a  little 
memorandum  in  pencil  ordering  the  Secretary  of 
War  to  appoint  Dick  Gower  a  lieutenant  in  the 
regular  army.  Dick  achieved  distinction  after- 
ward, and  was  everywhere  known  in  ths  army  as 
a  man  without  fear,  who  never  made  a  mistake." 


232       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

A  correspondent  of  the  Boston  Traveller  fur- 
nishes a  humorous  story  told  by  President  Lin- 
coln, to  show  the  embarrassment  which  he  felt  as 
to  the  disposal  of  Jefferson  Davis : 

"  A  gentleman  told  me  a  story  recently  which 
well  illustrates  Lincoln's  immense  fund  of  anec- 
dotes. Said  he :  '  Just  after  Jeff  Davis  had  been 
captured  I  called  over  at  the  White  House  to  see 
President  Lincoln.  I  was  ushered  in,  and  asked 
him  :  "  Well,  Mr.  President,  what  are  you  going 
to  do  with  Jeff  Davis  2 "  Lincoln  looked  at  me 
for  a  moment,  and  then  said,  in  his  peculiar,  hu- 
morous way :  "  That  reminds  me  of  a  story.  A 
boy  'way  out  West  caught  a  coon  and  tamed  it  to 
a  considerable  extent,  but  the  animal  created  such 
mischief  about  the  house  that  his  mother  ordered 
him  to  take  it  away  and  not  to  come  home  until 
he  could  return  without  his  pet.  The  boy  went 
down-town  with  the  coon,  secured  with  a  strong 
piece  of  twine,  and  in  about  an  hour  he  was  found 
sitting  on  the  edge  of  the  curbstone,  holding  the 
coon  with  one  hand  and  crying  as  though  his 
heart  would  break.  A  big-hearted  gentleman, 
who  was  passing,  stopped  and  kindly  inquired : 
'  Say,  little  boy,  what  is  the  matter  | J  TliQ  boy 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'.  333 

wiped  a  tear  from  his  eye  with  his  sleeve,  and  in 
an  injured  tone,  howled:  'Matter!  Ask  me 
what's  the  matter!  You  see  that  coon  there? 
Well,  I  don't  know  what  to  do  with  the  darn 
thing.  I  can't  sell  it,  I  can't  kill  it,  and  ma  won't 
let  me  take  it  home.'  That,"  continued  Lincoln, 
"  is  precisely  my  case.  I  am  like  the  boy  with 
the  coon.  I  can't  sell  him,  I  can't  kill  him,  and 
I  can't  take  him  home ! "  '  " 

I  have  already  remarked  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
superstitious.  He  seemed  to  be  deeply  impressed 
by  dreams,  and  claimed  to  be  notitiecl  in  this  way 
of  the  approach  of  important  events. 

"  On  the  Friday  of  his  death  he  called  his  Cab- 
inet together  at  noon,  and  he  seemed  dispirited. 
He  said :  '  I  wish  I  could  hear  from  Sherman.' 
General  Grant,  who  was  present,  said  :  'You  will 
hear  well  from  Sherman.'  He  said:  'I  don't 
know.  I  have  had  a  dream,  the  same  that  I  had 
before  the  battles  of  Bull  Kim,  of  Chancellors- 
ville,  and  of  Swan  River.  It  has,'  he  said,  '  al- 
ways boded  disaster.'  It  made  a  great  impres- 
sion on  all  of  the  Cabinet  and  on  General  Grant. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  remonstrated  with  forgoing 
about  unattended,  but  he  said  :  '"What  is  the  use 


234:  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

of  precautions  ?  If  they  want  to  kill  me  they  will 
kill  me.'  He  was  killed,  but  history  will  place  him 
next  to  "Washington  in  the  list  of  beloved  Presi- 
dents. The  skill  displayed  by  him  in  managing 
Chase,  Stanton,  Surnner,  Fesseuden,  Wade,  Sew- 
ard,  and  other  candidates  for  the  Presidency,  was 
wonderful,  and  when  there  was  any  hitch  he  was 
reminded  of  a  story,  illustrating  the  situation. 
His  stories  were,  in  short,  '  parables.' " — Boston 
Budget. 

Even  in  the  hour  of  victory  he  was  thoughtful, 
not  jubilant. 

"  When  General  Weitzel  escorted  President 
Lincoln  and  his  companions  through  the  Capitol 
at  Richmond  the  day  after  the  occupation,  in 
April,  1865,  they  reached  what  the  rebels  called 
the  Cabinet  room  of  the  great  President  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy.  General  Weitzel  said : 
'  This,  Mr.  President,  is  the  chair  which  has  been 
so  long  occupied  by  President  Davis.'  He  pulled 
it  from  the  table  and  motioned  the  President  to 
sit  down.  Mr.  Lincoln's  face  took  an  extra  look 
of  care  and  melancholy.  The  narrator  says  '  he 
looked  at  it  a  moment  and  slowly  approached  and 
wearilv  sat  down.  It  was  an  hour  of  exultation 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  235 

with  the  soldiers  ;  we  felt  that  the  war  was  ended, 
and  we  knew  that  all  over  the  North  bells  were 
pealing,  cannon  booming,  and  the  people  were 
delirious  with  joy  over  the  prospect  of  peace.  I 
expected  to  see  the  President  manifest  some  spirit 
of  triumph  as  he  sat  in  the  seat  so  long  occupied 
by  the  rebel  Government ;  but  his  great  head  fell 
into  his  broad  hand  and  a  sigh  that  seemed  to 
come  from  the  soul  of  a  nation,  escaped  his  lips 
and  saddened  every  man  present.  His  mind 
seemed  to  be  travelling  back  through  the  dark 
years  of  the  war,  and  he  was  counting  the  cost  in 
treasure,  life,  and  blood  that  made  it  possible  for 
him  to  sit  there.  As  Jie  rose  without  a  word  and 
left  the  room  slowly  and  sadly,  tears  involuntarily 
came  to  the  eyes  of  every  man  present,  and  we 
soldiers  realized  that  we  had  not  done  all  the  suf- 
fering nor  made  all  the  sacrifices.' " 

"Where  Abraham  Lincoln  obtained  some  of  his 
anti-slavery  ideas  may  be  learned  from  a  recent 
article  in  the  Century,  by  Leonard  W.  Bacon,  who 
describes  the  effects  of  his  father's  writings  upon 
this  subject  on  the  mind  of  the  future  President : 

"  '  These  essays ' — from  the  preface  to  which  I 
have  just  quoted — had  been  written  at  divers 


23G  .ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

times  from  1833  onward,  and  were  collected,  in 
1846,  into  a  volume  which  has  had  a  history.  It 
is  a  book  of  exact  definitions,  just  discriminations, 
lucid  and  tenacious  arguments ;  and  it  deals  with 
certain  obstinate  and  elusive  sophistries  in  an  ef- 
fective way.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  when 
it  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  young  Western  lawyer, 
Abraham  Lincoln, — whose  characteristic  was  '  not 
to  be  content  with  an  idea  until  he  could  bound 
it  north,  east,  south,  and  west,' — it  should  prove 
to  be  a  book  exactly  after  his  mind.  It  was  to 
him  not  only  a  study  on  slavery,  but  a  model  in 
the  rhetoric  of  debate.  It  is  not  difficult  to  trace 
the  influence  of  it  in  that  great  stump-debate  with 
Douglas,  in  which  Lincoln's  main  strength  lay  in 
his  cautious  wisdom  in  declining  to  take  the  ex- 
treme positions  into  which  his  wily  antagonist 
tried  to  provoke  or  entice  him.  When,  many 
years  after  the  little  book  had  been  forgotten  by 
the  public,  and  after  slavery  had  fallen  before  the 
President's  proclamation,  it  appeared  from  Lin- 
coln's own  declaration  to  Dr.  Joseph  P.  Thomp- 
son that  he  owed  to  that  book  his  definite,  reason- 
able, and  irrefragable  views  on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion, my  father  felt  to  sing  the  Nunc  dimitiis." 


CHAPTER  XXYI. 
MK.  LINCOLN'S  HUMANITY. 

MARTIAL  law  is  severe,  and,  doubtless,  not 
without  reason.  Desertion  in  time  of  war  is  a 
capital  offence,  and  many  a  poor  fellow  suffered 
the  penalty  during  the  terrible  four  years  of  the 
civil  war.  Many  more  would  have  suffered  but 
for  the  humane  interposition  of  the  President, 
who  was  glad  to  find  the  slightest  excuse  for  sav- 
ing the  life  of  the  unfortunate  offender.  As  Dr. 
Holland  observes,  he  had  the  deepest  sympathy 
for  the  soldiers  who  were  fighting  the  battles  of 
their  country.  He  knew  something  of  their 
trials  and  privations,  their  longing  for  home,  and 
the  strength  of  the  temptation  which  sometimes 
led  them  to  lapse  from  duty.  There  was  infinite 
tenderness  in  the  heart  of  this  man  which  made 

him  hard  to  consent  to  extreme  punishment. 

(237) 


238       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

I  propose  to  cull  from  different  sources  illus- 
trations of  Mr.  Lincoln's  humanity.  The  first  I 
find  in  a  letter  written  to  Dr.  Holland  by  a  per- 
sonal friend  of  the  President : 

"  1  called  on  him  one  day  in  the  early  part  of 
the  war.  He  had  just  written  a  pardon  for  a 
young  man  who  had  been  sentenced  to  be  shot, 
for  sleeping  at  his  post  as  a  sentinel.  He  re- 
marked as  he  read  it  to  me,  '  I  could  not  think  of 
going  into  eternity  with  the  blood  of  the  poor 
young  man  on  my  skirts.'  Then  he  added, '  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  a  boy,  raised  on  a  farm, 
probably  in  the  habit  of  going  to  bed  at  dark, 
should,  when  required  to  watch,  fall  asleep,  and  I 
can  not  consent  to  shoot  him  for  such  an  act.' " 

Dr.  Holland  adds  that  Rev.  Newman  Hall,  of 
London,  in  a  sermon  preached  upon  and  after  Mr. 
Lincoln's  death,  says  that  the  dead  body  of  this 
youth  was  found  among  the  slain  on  the  field  of 
Fredericksburg,  wearing  next  his  heart  the  photo- 
graph of  his  preserver,  beneath  which  he  had 
written,  "  God  bless  President  Lincoln."  On  an- 
other occasion,  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  asked  to 
assent  to  the  capital  punishment  of  twenty-four 
deserters,  sentenced  to  be  shot  for  desertion,  he 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  239 

said  to  the  General  who  pleaded  the  necessity  of 
enforcing  discipline,  "No,  General,  there  are  al- 
ready too  many  weeping  widows  in  the  United 
States.  For  God's  sake,  don't  ask  me  to  add  to 
the  number,  for  I  won't  do  it." 

From  Mr.  Carpenter's  "  Six  Months  at  the 
White  House,"  I  make  the  following  extract : 

"  The  Secretary  of  War  and  Generals  in  com- 
mand were  frequently  much  annoyed  at  being 
overruled, — the  discipline  and  efficiency  of  the 
service  being  thereby,  as  they  considered,  greatly 
endangered.  But  there  was  no  going  back  of  the 
simple  signature,  '  A.  Lincoln,'  attached  to  proc- 
lamation or  reprieve. 

"  My  friend  Kellogg,  Representative  from  Essex 
County,  New  York,  received  a  dispatch  one  even- 
ing from  the  army,  to  the  effect  that  a  young 
townsman  who  had  been  induced  to  enlist  through 
his  instrumentality,  had,  for  a  serious  misdemean- 
or, been  convicted  by  a  court-martial,  and  was 
to  be  shot  the  next  day.  Greatly  agitated,  Mr. 
Kellogg  went  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  urged 
in  the  strongest  manner,  a  reprieve. 

"  Stanton  was  inexorable. 

" '  Too  many  cases  of  the  kind  had  been  let 


240       BOYHOOD  AND  MAXHOOD  OF 

off,' he  said;  'and  it  was  time  an  example  was 
made.' 

"  Exhausting  his  eloquence  in  vain,  Mr.  Kellogg 
said :  '  Well,  Mr.  Secretary,  the  boy  is  not  going 
to  be  shot — of  that  I  give  you  fair  warning ! ' 

"  Leaving  the  "War  Department,  he  went  di- 
rectly to  the  "White  House,  although  the  hour  was 
late.  The  sentinel  on  duty  told  him  that  special 
orders  had  been  issued  to  admit  no  one  that  night. 
After  a  long  parley,  by  pledging  himself  to  as- 
sume the  responsibility  of  the  act,  the  Congress- 
man passed  in.  The  President  had  retired ;  but, 
indifferent  to  etiquette  or  ceremony,  Judge  Kel- 
logg pressed  his  way  through  all  obstacles  to  his 
sleeping  apartment.  In  an  excited  manner  he 
stated  that  the  dispatch  announcing  the  hour  of 
execution  had  but  just  reached  him. 

"  '  This  man  must  not  be  shot,  Mr.  President,' 
said  he.  '  I  can't  help  what  he  may  have  done. 
"Why,  he  is  an  old  neighbor  of  mine;  I  can't  al- 
low him.  to  be  shot ! ' 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  had  remained  in  bed,  quietly  list- 
ening to  the  vehement  protestations  of  his  old 
friend  (they  were  in  Congress  together).  Ho  at 
length  said,  (  Well,  I  don't  believe  shooting  him 


A  'JMAHAM  LINCOLN.  04 \ 

will  do  him  any  good.       Give  me  that    pen. 
And,  so  saying,  '  red  tape '  was  unceremoniously 
cut,  and  another  poor  fellow's  lease  of  life  was 
indefinitely  extended." 

I  continue  to  quote  from  Mr.  Carpenter : 
"  One  night  Speaker  Colfax  left  all  other  busi- 
ness to  ask  the  President  to  respite  the  son  of  a 
constituent  who  was  sentenced  to  be  shot  at  Dav- 
enport for  desertion.  He  heard  the  story  with 
his  usual  patience,  though  he  was  wearied  out 
with  incessant  calls  and  anxious  for  rest,  and  then 
replied,  '  Some  of  our  generals  complain  that  I 
impair  discipline  and  subordination  in  the  army 
by  my  pardons  and  respites,  but  it  makes  me 
rested  after  a  hard  day's  work  if  I  can  find  some 
good  excuse  for  saving  a  man's  life,  and  I  go  to 
bed  happy,  as  I  think  how  joyous  the  signing  of 
my  name  will  make  him  and  his  family  and  his 
friends.' 

"  The  Hon.  Thaddeus  Stevens  told  me  that  on 
one  occasion  he  called  at  the  White  House  with 
an  elderly  lady  in  great  trouble,  whose  son  had 
been  in  the  army,  but  for  some  offence  had  been 
court-martialed,  and  sentenced  either  to  death  or 
imprisonment  at  hard  labor,  for  a  long  term. 
16 


242       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

There  were  some  extenuating  circumstances ; 
and,  after  a  full  hearing,  the  President  turned  to 
the  Representative,  and  said  : 

"'Mr.  Stevens,  do  you  think  this  is  a  case 
which  will  warrant  my  interference  ? ' 

" '  With  my  knowledge  of  the  facts  and  the 
parties,'  was  the  reply,  '  I  should  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  granting  a  pardon.' 

"  '  Then,'  returned  Mr.  Lincoln,  '  I  will  pardon 
him,'  and  he  proceeded  forthwith  to  execute  the 
paper. 

"The  gratitude  of  the  mother  was  too  deep  for 
expression,  and  not  a  word  was  said  between  her 
and  Mr.  Stevens  until  they  were  half-way  down- 
stairs on  their  passage  out,  when  she  suddenly 
broke  forth  in  an  excited  manner  with  the  words, 
'  I  knew  it  was  a  copperhead  lie  ! ' 

"  '  What  do  you  refer  to,  madam  ? '  asked  Mr. 
Stevens. 

" '  Why,  they  told  me  he  was  an  ugly-looking 
man ! '  she  replied  with  vehemence.  '  He  is  the 
handsomest  man  I  ever  saw  in  my  life ! ' 

"Doubtless  the  grateful  mother  voiced  the 
feeling  of  many  another,  who,  in  the  rugged  and 
care-worn  face  had  read  the  sympathy  and  good- 
ness of  the  inner  nature." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  243 

Another  Case. 

"  A  young  man  connected  with  a  New  York 
regiment  had  become  to  all  appearances  a  hard- 
ened criminal.  He  had  deserted  two  or  three 
times,  and,  when  at  last  detected  and  imprisoned, 
had  attempted  to  poison  his  guards,  one  of  whom 
subsequently  died  from  the  effects  of  the  poison 
unconsciously  taken.  Of  course,  there  seemed  no 
defence  possible  in  such  a  case.  But  the  fact 
came  out  that  the  boy  had  been  of  unsound 
mind. 

"  Some  friends  of  his  mother  took  up  the  mat- 
ter, and  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  Secretary  of 
War.  He  declined  positively  to  listen  to  it, — 
the  case  was  too  aggravating.  The  prisoner 
(scarcely  more  than  a  boy)  was  confined  at  El- 
mira,  N.  Y.  The  day  for  the  execution  of  his 
sentence  had  nearly  arrived,  when  his  mother 
made  her  way  to  the  President.  He  listened  to 
her  story,  examined  the  record,  and  said  that  his 
opinion  accorded  with  that  of  the  Secretary  of 
War;  he  could  do  nothing  for  her. 

"Heart-broken,  she  was  compelled  to  relin- 
quish her  last  hope.  One  of  the  friends  who  had 
hec'oirie  interested,  upon  learning  the  result  of 


244  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

the  application,  waited  upon  Senator  Harris. 
That  gentleman  said  that  his  engagements  utter- 
ly precluded  his  going  to  see  the  President  upon 
the  subject,  until  twelve  o'clock  of  the  second 
night  following.  This  brought  the  time  to 
Wednesday  night,  and  the  sentence  was  to  be 
executed  on  Thursday.  Judge  Harris,  true  to 
his  word,  called  at  the  White  House  at  twelve 
o'clock  on  Wednesday  night.  The  President  had 
retired,  but  the  interview  was  granted.  The 
point  made  was  that  the  boy  was  insane, — thus 
irresponsible,  and  his  execution  would  be  murder. 
Pardon  was  not  asked,  but  a  reprieve,  until  a 
proper  medical  examination  could  be  made. 

"  This  was  so  reasonable  that  Mr.  Lincoln  ac- 
quiesced in  its  justice.  He  immediately  ordered 
a  telegram  sent  to  Elmira,  delaying  the  execution 
of  the  sentence.  Early  the  next  morning  he  sent 
another  by  a  different  line,  and,  before  the  hour 
of  execution  had  arrived,  he  had  sent  no  less  than 
four  different  reprieves  by  different  lines  to  dif- 
ferent individuals  in  Elmira,  so  fearful  was  he 
that  the  message  would  fail  or  be  too  late." 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  stories  that  have 
been  told  in  illustration  of  President  Linc-ohi's 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  245 

humanity.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  opin- 
ion of  the  generals  in  command,  as  to  the  expe- 
diency of  his  numerous  pardons,  they  throw  a 
beautiful  light  upon  his  character,  and  will  en- 
dear his  memory  to  all  who  can  appreciate  his 
tender  sympathy  for  all,  and  his  genuine  and  un- 
affected goodness. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ANECDOTES   OF   ME.    LINCOLN. 

A  MAN'S  character  often  is  best  disclosed  by 
trifling  incidents,  and  it  is  for  this  reason,  per- 
haps, that  the  public  is  eager  to  read  anecdotes 
of  its  illustrious  men.  I  shall  devote  the  present 
chapter  to  anecdotes  of  President  Lincoln,  gath- 
ered from  various  quarters.  I  shall  not  use  quo- 
tation-marks, but  content  myself  with  saying  at 
the  outset  that  they  are  all  borrowed. 

At  the  reception  at  the  President's  house  one 
afternoon,  many  persons  present  noticed  three 
little  girls  poorly  dressed,  the  children  of  some 
mechanic  or  laboring  man,  who  had  followed  the 
visitors  fully  into  the  house  to  gratify  their  curi- 
osity. They  passed  round  from  room  to  room, 
and  were  hastening  through  the  reception-room 

with  some  trepidation  when  the  President  called 

(246) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  247 

to  them,  "  Little  girls,  are  you  going  to  pass  me 
without  shaking  hands  ? " 

Then  he  beiit  his  tall,  awkward  form  down, 
and  shook  each  little  girl  warmly  by  the  hand. 
Everybody  in  the  apartment  was  spell-bound  by 
the  incident — so  simple  in  itself,  yet  revealing  so 
much  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character. 

The  President  and  the  Paymaster. 

One  of  the  numerous  paymasters  at  Washing- 
ton sought  an  introduction  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  He 
arrived  at  the  White  House  quite  opportunely, 
and  was  introduced  to  the  President  by  the  Uni- 
ted States  Marshal,  with  his  blandest  smile. 
While  shaking  hands  with  the  President  the 
paymaster  remarked : 

"I  have  no  official  business  with  you,  Mr. 
President ;  I  only  called  to  pay  my  compli- 
ments." 

"  I  understand,"  was  the  reply,  "  and,  from  the 
complaints  of  the  soldiers,  I  think  that  is  all  you 
do  pay." 

The  Interviewer. 

An  interviewer,  with  the  best  intentions  in  the 
world,  once  went  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  room  in  the 


218       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

White  House  while  he  was  President,  and  in- 
quired : 

"  Mr.  President,  what  do  you  think  of  the  war 
and  its  end  ? " 

To  which  Mr.  Lincoln  politely  and  laughingly 
replied : 

"  That  question  of  yonrs  puts  me  in  mind  of  a 
story  about  something  which  happened  down  in 
Egypt,  in  the  southern  part  of  Illinois." 

The  point  of  it  was  that  a  man  burned  his  fin- 
gers by  being  in  too  much  haste.  Mr.  Lincoln 
told  the  story  admirably  well,  walking  up  and 
down  the  room,  and  heartily  laughing  all  the 
while.  The  interviewer  was  quick  to  see  the 
point.  As  a  matter  of  course  he  was  cut  to  the 
quick,  and  quickly  down-stairs  he  rushed,  saying 
to  himself: 

"  I'll  never  interview  that  man  again." 

How  Mr.  Lincoln  secured  a  Ride. 

When  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  poor  lawyer,  he 
found  himself  one  cold  day  at  a  village  some  dis- 
tance from  Springfield,  and  with  no  means  ot 
conveyance. 

Seeing  a  gentleman  driving  along  the  Spring- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  249 

field  road  in  a  carriage,  he  ran  up  to  him  and  po- 
litely said : 

"  Sir,  will  you  have  the  goodness  to  take  my 
overcoat  to  town  for  me  ?  " 

"With  pleasure,"  answered  the  gentleman. 
"  But  how  will  you  get  it  again  ? " 

"  Oh,  very  easily,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  as  I  in- 
tend to  remain  in  it." 

"  Jump  in,"  said  the  gentleman  laughing.  And 
the  future  President  had  a  pleasant  ride. 

The  Presidents  Influence. 

Judge  Baldwin,  of  California,  an  old  and  highly 
respectable  and  sedate  gentleman,  called  on  Gen- 
eral Halleck,  and,  presuming  on  a  familiar  ac- 
quaintance in  California  a  few  years  since,  solic- 
ited a  pass  outside  of  the  lines  to  see  a  brother  in 
Virginia,  not  thinking  he  would  meet  with  a  re- 
fusal, as  both  his  brother  and  himself  were  good 
Union  men. 

"  We  have  been  deceived  too  often,"  said  Gen- 
eral Halleck,  "  and  I  regret  I  can't  grant  it." 

Judge  B.  then  went  to  Stanton,  and  was  very 
briefly  disposed  of  with  the  same  result. 


250  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Finally  he  obtained  an  interview  with  Mr.  Lin- 
coln and  stated  his  case. 

"  Have  you  applied  to  General  Halleck  ? "  said 
the  President. 

"  And  met  with  a  flat  refusal,"  said  Judge  B. 

"  Then  you  must  see  Stanton,"  continued  the 
President. 

"  I  have,  and  with  the  same  result,"  was  the 
reply. 

*'  Well,  then,"  said  the  President,  with  a  smile 
of  good  humor,  "  I  can  do  nothing,  for  you  must 
know  that  1  have  very  little  influence  with  this 
administration." 

The  Germa/n  Lieutenant. 

A  lieutenant,  whom  debts  compelled  to  leave 
his  father-land,  succeeded  in  being  admitted  to 
President  Lincoln,  and,  by  reason  of  his  commend- 
able and  winning  deportment  and  intelligent  ap- 
pearance, was  promised  a  lieutenant's  commission 
in  a  cavalry  regiment. 

He  was  so  enraptured  with  his  success,  that  he 
deemed  it  a  duty  to  inform  the  President  that  he 
belonged  to  one  of  the  oldest  noble  houses  in  Ger 

o 

many. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  251 

"  Oh,  never  mind  that,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  a 
twinkle  of  the  eye ;  "  you  will  not  find  that  to  be 
any  obstacle  to  your  advancement." 

A  Pass  for  Richmond. 

A  gentleman  called  on  the  President,  and  so- 
licited a  pass  for  Richmond. 

"  "Well,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  I  would  be  very 
happy  to  oblige  you  if  my  passes  were  respected  ; 
but  the  fact  is,  sir,  I  have,  within  the  last  two 
years,  given  passes  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand men  to  go  to  Richmond,  and  not  one  has 
got  there  yet." 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Preacher. 

An  officer  under  the  Government  called  at  the 
Executive  Mansion,  accompanied  by  a  clerical 
friend. 

"  Mr.  President,"  said  he,  "  allow  me  to  present 

to  you  iny  friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  F.,  of . 

Mr.  F.  has  expressed  a  desire  to  see  you,  and  have 
some  conversation  with  you,  and  I  am  happy  to 
be  the  means  of  introducing  him." 

The  President  shook  hands  with  Mr.  F.,  desired 
him  to  be  seated,  and  took  a  seat  himself.  Then 


252  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

— his  countenance  having  assumed  an  expression 
of  patient  waiting — he  said:  "I  am  now  ready 
to  hear  what  you  have  to  say." 

"  Oh,  hless  you,  sir,"  said  Mr.  F.,  "  I  have  noth- 
ing special  to  say.  I  merely  called  to  pay  my  re- 
spects to  you,  and,  as  one  of  the  million,  to  assure 
you  of  my  hearty  sympathy  and  support." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  -  the  President,  rising 
promptly,  his  face  showing  instant  relief,  and 
with  both  hands  grasping  that  of  his  visitor,  "  I 
am  very  glad  to  see  you ;  I  am  very  glad  to  see 
you,  indeed.  I  thought  you  had  come  to  preach 
to  me." 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  Advisers. 

Some  gentlemen  from  the  West  waited  upon 
the  President.  They  were  in  a  critical  mood. 
They  felt  that  things  were  not  going  on  as  they 
should,  and  they  wanted  to  give  advice.  The 
President  heard  them  patiently,  and  then  replied  : 

"  Gentlemen,  suppose  all  the  property  you  were 
worth  was  in  gold,  and  you  had  put  it  in  the 
hands  of  Blondin  to  carry  across  the  Niagara 
River  on  a  rope ;  would  you  shake  the  cable,  or 
keep  shouting  out  to  him — '  Blondin,  stand  up  a 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  253 

little  straighter ! '  '  Blondin,  stoop  a  little  more ! ' 
'  Go  a  little  faster ! '  '  Lean  a  little  more  to  the 
North  ! '  '  Lean  a  little  more  to  the  South ! '  No, 
you  would  hold  your  breath  as  well  as  your  tongue, 
and  keep  your  hands  off  till  he  was  safely  over. 
The  Government  is  carrying  an  immense  weight. 
Untold  treasures  are  in  its  hands.  It  is  doing  the 
best  it  can.  Don't  badger  it.  Keep  silence,  and 
we'll  get  you  safe  across." 

This  simple  illustration  answered  the  complaints 
of  half  an  hour,  and  not  only  silenced  but  charmed 
the  audience. 

Somewhat  similar  is  the  answer  made  to  a 
Western  farmer,  who  waited  upon  Mr.  Lincoln, 
with  a  plan  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  the 
war,  to  which  the  President  listened  with  as  much 
patience  as  he  could.  When  he  was  through,  he 
asked  the  opinion  of  the  President  upon  his  plan. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  I'll  answer  by  tell- 
ing you  a  story.  You  have  heard  of  Mr.  Blank, 
of  Chicago  ?  He  was  an  immense  loafer  in  his 
way — in  fact,  never  did  anything  in  his  life.  One 
day  he  got  crazy  over  a  great  rise  in  the  price  of 
wheat,  upon  which  many  wheat  speculators  gained 
large  fortunes.  Blank  started  oil  one  morning  to 


254  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

one  of  the  most  successful  of  the  wheat  specula- 
tors, and,  with  much  enthusiasm,  laid  before  him 
a  plan  by  which  he  (the  said  Blank)  was  certain  of 
becoming  independently  rich.  When  he  had  fin- 
ished he  asked  the  opinion  of  his  hearer  upon  his 
plan  of  operations.  The  reply  came  as  follows : 
'  I  advise  you  to  stick  to  your  business.'  '  But,' 
asked  Blank,  ' what  is  my  business ? '  'I  don't 
know,  I'm  sure,  what  it  is,'  said  the  merchant, 
'but  whatever  it  is,  I  advise  you  to  stick  to  it.' 

"  And  now,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  I  mean  noth- 
ing offensive,  for  I  know  you  mean  well,  but  I 
think  you  had  better  stick  to  your  business,  and 
leave  the  war  to  those  who  have  the  responsibility 
of  managing  it." 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  English  pre- 
mier, is  known  for  his  skill  in  chopping  wood. 
The  following  anecdote  shows  that  President  Lin- 
coln also  was  not  without  experience  in  the  same 
direction : 

During  one  of  the  last  visits  that  he  made  to 
James  River,  a  short  time  before  the  capture  of 
Richmond,  he  spent  some  time  in  walking  around 
among  the  hospitals,  and  in  visiting  various  fatigue 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  255 

parties  at  work  in  putting  up  cabins  and  other 
buildings. 

He  came  upon  one  squad  who  were  cutting  logs 
for  a  house;  and  chatting  a  moment  with  the 
hardy  woodsmen,  asked  one  of  them  to  let  him 
take  his  axe.  Mr.  Lincoln  grasped  the  helve  with 
the  easy  air  of  one  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
tool,  and  remarked  that  he  used  to  be  "  good  on 
the  chop." 

The  President  then  let  in  on  a  big  log,  making 
the  chips  fly,  and  making  as  smooth  a  cut  as  the 
best  lumberman  in  Maine  could  do. 

Meantime,  the  men  crowded  round  to  see  the 
work ;  and,  as  he  handed  back  the  axe,  and  walked 
away  with  a  pleasant  joke,  the  choppers  gave  him 
three  as  hearty  cheers  as  he  ever  heard  in  the 
whole  of  his  political  career. 


CHAPTER  XXYIII. 

PRESIDENT    LINCOLN   AS   A   RELIGIOUS   MAN. 

SOON  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  Mr.  Noah 
Brooks  published  in  Harper's  Monthly  an  inter- 
esting article,  devoted  to  reminiscences  of  his 
dead  friend.  From  this  article,  I  make  a  few  ex- 
tracts, for  which  my  readers  will  thank  me : 

"Just  after  the  last  Presidential  election,  he 
said :  '  Being  only  mortal,  after  all,  I  should  have 
been  a  little  mortified  if  I  had  been  beaten  in 
this  canvass ;  but  that  sting  would  have  been 
more  than  compensated  by  the  thought  that  the 
people  had  notified  me  that  all  my  official  respon- 
sibilities were  soon  to  be  lifted  off  my  back.' 
In  reply  to  the  remark  that  in  all  these  cares  he 
was  daily  remembered  by  all  who  prayed,  not  to 
be  heard  of  men,  as  no  man  had  ever  before  been 
remembered,  he  caught  at  the  homely  phrase,  and 

said,  '  Yes,  I  like  that  phra?e,  "  not  to  be  heard  of 

(-256) 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  257 

men,"  and,  again,  it  is  generally  true  as  you  say; 
at  least  I  have  been  told  so,  and  I  have  been  a 
good  deal  helped  by  just  that  thought.'  Then  he 
solemnly  and  slowly  added:  'I  should  be  the 
most  presumptuous  blockhead  upon  this  footstool, 
if  I,  for  one  day,  thought  that  I  could  discharge 
the  duties  which  have  come  upon  me  since  I  came 
into  this  place,  without  the  aid  and  enlightenment 
of  One  who  is  stronger  and  wiser  than  all  others.'  " 
"  At  another  time  he  said  cheerfully, '  I  am  very- 
sure  that  if  I  do  not  go  away  from  here  a  wise 
man,  I  shall  go  away  a  better  man,  for  having 
learned  here  what  a  very  poor  sort  of  man  I 
am.'  Afterward,  referring  to  what  he  called  a 
change  of  heart,  he  said  he  did  not  remember  any 
precise  time  when  he  passed  through  any  special 
change  of  purpose  or  heart ;  but  he  would  say, 
that  his  own  election  to  office,  and  the  crisis  im- 
mediately following,  influentially  determined  him 
in  what  he  called  '  a  process  of  crystallization ' 
then  going  on  in  his  mind.  Reticent  as  he  was, 
and  shy  of  discoursing  much  of  his  own  mental 
exercises,  these  few  utterances  now  have  a  value 
with  those  who  knew  him,  which  his  dying  words 
would  scarcely  have  possessed." 
17 


258  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  On  Thursday  of  a  certain  week,  two  ladies 
from  Tennessee  caine  before  the  President,  ask- 
ing the  release  of  their  husbands,  held  as  pris- 
oners of  war  at  Johnson's  Island.  They  were 
put  off  until  Friday,  when  they  came  again,  and 
were  again  put  off  until  Saturday.  At  each  of 
the  interviews  one  of  the  ladies  urged  that  her 
husband  was  a  religious  man.  On  Saturday, 

when  the  President  ordered  the  release  of  the 

t 

prisoner,  he  said  to  this  lady  :  '  You  say  your  hus- 
band is  a  religious  man  :  tell  him,  when  you  meet 
him,  that  I  say  I  am  not  much  of  a  judge  of  re- 
ligion, but  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  religion  which 
sets  men  to  rebel  and  tight  against  their  Govern- 
ment, because,  as  they  think,  that  Government 
does  not  sufficiently  help  some  men  to  eat  their 
bread  in  the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces,  is  not  "the 
sort  of  religion  upon  which  people  can  get  to 
heaven.' " 

"  On  an  occasion  I  shall  never  forget,"  says  the 
Hon.  H.  C.  Denning,  of  Connecticut,  "  the  con- 
versation turned  upon  religious  subjects,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  made  this  impressive  remark :  '  I  have 
never  united  myself  to  any  church,  because  I  have 
found  difficulty  in  giving  my  assent,  without  men- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  £59 

tal  reservation,  to  the  long,  complicated  state- 
ments of  Christian  doctrine  which  characterize 
their  Articles  of  Belief  and  Confessions  of  Faith. 
When  any  church  will  inscribe  over  its  altar,  as 
its  sole  qualification  of  membership,  the  Saviour's 
condensed  statement  of  the  substance  of  both 
Law  and  Gospel,  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  that  church  will  I  join 
with  all  my  heart  and  with  all  rny  soul.' " 

Though  Mr.  Lincoln  never  formally  united 
himself  with  any  church,  doubtless  for  the  rea- 
son given  above,  because  he  knew  of  none  broad 
and  tolerant  enough  for  him,  it  is  clear  that  his 
mind  was  much  occupied  with  matters  connected 
with  religion.  ~No  one  could  charge  him  with 
scoffing  at  sacred  things.  Had  he  even  been  so 
inclined,  the  bereavement  which  visited  him  in 
the  death  of  his  son  Willie,  who  died  February 
20th,  1862,  would  assuredly  have  changed  him. 
Devoted  as  he  was  to  his  children,  this  loss  af- 
fected him  deeply,  and  it  was  not  till  several 
weeks  had  passed  that  he  was  in  any  measure  rec- 
onciled. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  one  of  the  guests  at  a  din- 


260  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

ner-party  in  Washington,  during  which  the  Presi- 
dent had  been  freely  discussed,  "you  may  talk  as 
you  please  about  Mr.  Lincoln's  capacity.  I  don't 
believe  him  to  be  the  ablest  statesman  in  America, 
by  any  means,  and  I  voted  against  him  on  both 
occasions  of  his  candidacy.  But  I  happened  to 
see,  or  rather  to  hear,  something  the  other  day 
that  convinced  me  that,  however  deficient  he  may 
be  in  the  head,  he  is  all  right  in  the  heart.  1  was 
up  at  the  White  House,  having  called  to  see  the 
President  on  business.  I  was  shown  into  the 
office  of  his  private  secretary,  and  told  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  busy  just  then,  but  would  be  dis- 
engaged in  a  short  time.  While  waiting,  I  heard 
a  very  earnest  prayer  being  uttered  in  a  loud 
female  voice  in  the  adjoining  room.  1  inquired 
what  it  meant,  and  was  told  that  an  old  Quaker 
lady,  a  friend  of  the  President's,  had  called  that 
afternoon  and  taken  tea  at  the  White  House,  and 
that  she  was  then  praying  with  Mr.  Lincoln. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  few  minutes  the  prayer 
ceased,  and  the  President,  accompanied  by  a 
Quakeress,  not  less  than  eighty  years  old,  enter- 
ed the  room  where  I  was  sitting.  I  made  up  my 
iiiia:l  then,  gentlemen,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not 


ABBA  HA  M  LINCOLN.  231 

a  bad  man ;  and  I  don't  think  it  will  be  easy  to 
efface  the  impression  that  the  scene  I  witnessed, 
and  the  voice  I  heard,  made  upon  my  mind  !  " 

To  some  members  of  the  Christian  Commis- 
sion who  were  calling  upon  him,  Mr.  Lincoln  said  : 
"  If  it  were  not  for  my  firm,  belief  in  an  over- 
ruling Providence,  it  would  be  difficult  for  mo, 
in  the  midst  of  such  complications  of  affairs,  to 
keep  my  reason  on  its  seat.  But  I  am  confident 
that  the  Almighty  has  His  plans,  and  will  work 
them  out ;  and,  whether  we  see  it  or  not,  they 
will  be  the  wisest  and  best  for  us.  I  have  always 
taken  counsel  of  Him,  and  referred  to  Him  my 
plans,  and  have  never  adopted  a  course  of  pro- 
ceeding without  being  assured,  as  far  as  I  could 
be,  of  His  approbation.  To  be  sure,  He  has  not 
conformed  to  my  desires,  or  else  we  should  have 
been  out  of  our  trouble  long  ago.  On  the  other 
hand,  His  will  does  not  seem  to  agree  with  the  wish 
of  our  enemy  over  there  (pointing  across  the  Poto- 
mac). He  stands  the  Judge  between  us,  and  we 
ought  to  be  willing  to  accept  His  decision.  We 
have  reason  to  anticipate  that  it  will  be  favorable 
to  us,  for  our  cause  is  right." 

It  was  during  this  interview,  as  Dr.  Holland 


262  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

tells  us,  that  the  fact  was  privately  communicated 
to  a  member  of  the  Commission  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  in  the  habit  of  spending  an  early  hour  each 
day  in  prayer. 

It  will  hardly  be  necessary,  after  the  reader  haa 
read  thus  far,  to  answer  the  charge  made  in  some 
quarters  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  infidel.  Few 
of  his  critics  possess  his  simple  faith  in  God  arid 
his  deep  reverence  for  the  Almighty,  whose  in- 
strument he  firmly  believed  himself  to  be.  I  can 
not  deny  myself  the  satisfaction  of  reproducing 
here  Dr.  Holland's  remarks  upon  the  life  and 
character  of  the  President : 

"Mr.  Lincoln's  character  was  one  which  will 
grow.  It  will  become  the  basis  of  an  ideal  man. 
It  was  so  pure,  and  so  unselfish,  and  so  rich  in 
its  materials,  that  fine  imaginations  will  spring 
from  it  to  blossom  and  bear  fruit  through  all  the 
centuries.  This  element  was  found  in  Washing, 
ton,  whose  human  weaknesses  seem  to  have  faded 
entirely  from  memory,  leaving  him  a  demi-god  ; 
and  it  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Lincoln  to  a  still  more 
remarkable  degree.  The  black  race  have  already 
crowned  him.  "With  the  black  man,  and  particu- 
larly the  black  freedman,  Mr.  Lincoln's  name  is  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  263 

saintliest  which  -he  pronounces,  and  the  noblest 
he  can  concejve.  To  the  emancipated  he  is  more 
than  man — a  heing  scarcely  second  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  himself.  That  old,  white-headed 
negro,  who  undertook  to  tell  what  '  Massa  Lin- 
kura '  was  to  his  dark-minded  brethren,  embodied 
the  vague  conceptions  of  his  race  in  the  words : 
'  Massa  Linkum,  he  ebery  whar ;  he  know  ebery 
ting;  he  walk  de  earf  like  de  Lord.'  He  was  to 
these  men  the  incarnation  of  power  and  goodness ; 
and  his  memory  will  live  in  the  hearts  of  this  un- 
fortunate and  oppressed  race  while  it  shall  exist 
upon  the  earth." 

While  the  names  of  Lincoln  and  Washington 
are  often  associated,  the  former  holds  a  warmer 
place  in  the  affections  of  the  American  people 
than  his  great  predecessor,  who,  with  all  his  ex- 
cellence, was  far  removed  by  a  certain  coldness 
and  reserve  from  the  sympathies  of  the  common 
people.  Abraham  Lincoln,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  always  accessible,  and  his  heart  overflowed 
with  sympathy  for  the  oppressed  and  the  lowly. 
The  people  loved  him,  for  they  felt  that  he  was 
one  of  themselves. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

EMANCIPATING     THE     SLAVES. 

THE  "  great  central  act "  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  ad- 
ministration, as  he  himself  calls  it,  was  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  slaves.  At  the  stroke  of  a  pen 
the  shackles  fell  from  four  millions  of  persons  in 
a  state  of  servitude.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1863, 
emancipation  was  proclaimed,  and  the  promise 
was  made  that  "the  Executive  Government  of 
the  United  States,  including  the  military  and 
naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize  and 
maintain  the  freedom  of  said  persons." 

This  important  proclamation  carried  joy,  not 
only  to  the  persons  most  interested,  but  to  the 
friends  of  Freedom  everywhere. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  importuned  to  take  this 
step  before.  Earnest  anti-slavery  men  like  Charles 

Snmner  and  Horace  Greeley  felt  that  he  delayed 
(204) 


A  UK  A  TIAM  LINCOLN. 

too  long ;  but  the  President  was  wiser  than  they. 
He  had  always  been  an  anti-slavery  man,  but  his 
own  wishes  did  not  give  him  the  right  to  abol- 
ish slavery.  I  can  not  do  better  than  to  give 
Mr.  Lincoln's  reasons  for  the  course  he  pursued, 
in  his  own  words,  spoken  to  George  Thompson, 
an  eminent  English  anti-slavery  man,  in  April, 
1864: 

"  Mr.  Thompson,"  said  the  President,  "  the 
people  of  Great  Britain  and  of  other  foreign  gov- 
ernments were  in  one  great  error  in  reference  to 
this  conflict.  They  seemed  to  think  that,  the 
moment  I  was  President,  I  had  the  power  to 
abolish  slavery,  forgetting  that,  before  I  could 
have  any  power  whatever,  I  had  to  take  the  oath 
to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  execute  the  laws  as  I  found  them.  When 
the  Kebellion  broke  out,  my  duty  did  not  admit 
of  a  question.  1  did  not  consider  that  I  had  a 
right  to  touch  the  '  State '  institution  of  slavery 
until  all  other  measures  for  restoring  the  Union 
had  failed.  The  paramount  idea  of  the  Constitu- 
tion is  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  It  may  not 
be  specified  in  so  many  words,  but  that  this  was 
the  idea  of  its  founders  is  evident ;  for,  without 


206       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

the  Union,  the  Constitution  would  be  worthless. 
It  seems  clear,  then,  that  in  the  last  extremity,  if 
any  local  institution  threatened  the  existence  of 
the  Union,  the  Executive  could  not  hesitate  as  to 
his  duty.  In  our  case,  the  moment  came  when  I 
felt  that  slavery  must  die — that  the  nation  must 
live !  I  have  sometimes  used  the  illustration  in 
this  connection  of  a  man  with  a  diseased  limb 
and  his  surgeon.  So  long  as  there  is  a  chance  of 
the  patient's  restoration,  the  surgeon  is  solemnly 
bound  to  try  to  save  both  life  and  limb ;  but  when 
the  crisis  comes,  and  the  limb  must  be  sacrificed 
as  the  only  chance  of  saving  the  life,  no  honest 
man  will  hesitate. 

"  Many  of  my  strongest  supporters  urged  Eman- 
cipation before  I  thought  it  indispensable,  and,  I 
may  say,  before  I  thought  the  country  ready  for 
it.  It  is  my  conviction  that,  had  the  proclama- 
tion been  issued  even  six  months  earlier  than  it 
was,  public  sentiment  would  not  have  sustained 
it.  Just  so  as  to  the  subsequent  action  in  refer- 
ence to  enlisting  blacks  in  the  Border  States. 
The  step,  taken  sooner,  could  not,  in  my  judg- 
ment, have  been  carried  out.  A  man  watches  his 
pear-tree  day  after  day,  impatient  for  the  ripen- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  2G7 

ing  of  the  fruit.  Let  him  attempt  to  force  the 
process,  and  he  may  spoil  both  fruit  and  tree. 
But  let  him  patiently  wait,  and  the  ripe  pear  at 
length  falls  into  his  lap  !  "We  have  seen  this  great 
revolution  in  public  sentiment  slowly,  but  surely, 
progressing,  so  that,  when  final  action  came,  the 
opposition  was  not  strong  enough  to  defeat  the 
purpose.  I  can  now  solemnly  assert  that  I  have* 
a  clear  conscience  in  regard  to  my  action  on  this 
momentous  question.  I  have  done  what  no  man 
could  have  helped  doing,  standing  in  my  place." 

I  find  an  interesting  account  in  Mr.  Carpen- 
ter's volume,  of  the  circumstances  attending  Mr. 
Lincoln's  signing  the  Emancipation  Proclamation, 
quoted,  I  believe,  from  Col.  Forney.  It  runs 
thus : 

"  The  roll  containing  the  Emancipation  Proc- 
lamation was  taken  to  Mr.  Lincoln  at  noon  on 
the  1st  day  of  January,  1863,  by  Secretary  Seward 
and  his  son  Frederick. 

"  As  it  lay  unrolled  before  him,  Mr.  Lincoln 
took  a  pen,  dipped  it  in  ink,  moved  his  hand  to 
the  place  for  the  signature,  held  it  a  moment,  and 
then  removed  his  hand  and  dropped  the  pen. 
After  a  little  hesitation  he  again  took  up  the  pen 


268  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  went  through  the  same  movement  as  before. 
Mr.  Lincoln  then  turned  to  Mr.  Seward,  and  said  : 

"  '  I  have  been  shaking  hands  since  nine  o'clock 
this  morning,  and  my  right  arm  is  almost  para- 
lyzed. If  my  name  ever  goes  into  history  it 
will  be  for  this  act,  and  my  whole  soul  is  in  it. 
If  my  hand  trembles  when  I  sign  this  Proclama- 
tion, all  who  examine  the  document  hereafter  will 
say,  "  He  hesitated."  : 

"  He  then  turned  to  the  table,  took  up  the  pen 
again,  and  slowly,  firmly  wrote  that  'Abraham 
Lincoln,'  with  which  the  world  is  now  familiar. 
He  looked  up,  smiled,  and  said  :  '  That  will  do.' " 

That  act  linked  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
with  one  of  the  greatest  acts  in  all  history.  That 
act  gave  him  an  earthly  immortality ! 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

ELECTED   FOR   A   SECOND   TEEM. 

IN  hard  and  incessant  labor,  under  a  burden  of 
care  and  anxiety  that  were  making  him  an  old 
man  before  his  time,  the  term  for  which  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  elected  President  passed  slowly  away. 
And  the  question  came  to  the  ISTation,  "Who 
shall  be  our  next  President  ?  Shall  it  be  the  man 
who  has  led  us  thus  far  through  the  wilderness, 
or  shall  we  make  choice  of  another  leader  ? " 

There  was  a  difference  of  opinion.  Some  were 
in  favor  of  General  Fremont,  many  favored  Mr. 
Chase,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  there 
is  no  doubt  that  both  of  these  two  eminent  men 
wished  for  the  office.  Mr.  Lincoln,  too,  wished 
to  be  re-elected,  not,  I  am  sure,  because  power 
was  sweet,  but  because  he  wished  to  carry  out  to 
the  end  the  mighty  work  which  it  had  been  given 

to  him  to  do.     He  knew  that  Mr.  Chase  desired 

(269) 


270  LOT  HOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

to  succeed  him,  but  it  did  not  make  him  less 
friendly;  nor  when  it  devolved  upon  him  to 
appoint  a  successor  to  Chief-Justice  Taney,  did  it 
prevent  him  from  conferring  upon  his  chief  rival 
that  high  office.  He  considered  Mr.  Chase,  of  all 
men,  most  fit  to  fill  the  position,  and  that  with 
him  was  the  paramount  consideration. 

However  politicians  may  have  differed  with 
regard  to  the  Presidency,  the  people  were  with 
Mr.  Lincoln.  They  had  learned  to  trust  him,  and 
the  politicians  were  obliged  to  acquiesce  in  their 
choice.  He  was  nominated,  and  duly  elected,  and 
the  country  breathed  more  freely.  It  was  an  as- 
surance that  the  war  would  proceed  till  the  rebel- 
lion was  crushed  out,  and  the  restoration  of  the 
Union  was  now  looked  upon,  under  God,  as  cer- 
tain. 

During  the  campaign,  Senator  Sherman,  of 
Ohio,  in  a  speech  at  Sandusky,  gave  this  rough 
but  accurate  sketch  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  claims 
to  support.  It  was  addressed  to  a  Western 
audience,  and  doubtless  produced  a  powerful  im- 
pression : 

"  I  know  old  Abe,"  said  the  Senator,  "  and  I 
tell  you  there  is  not,  at  this  hour,  a  more  patriotic 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

or  a  truer  man  living  than  that  man  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Some  say  he  is  an  imbecile ;  but  he  not 
only  held  his  own  in  his  debates  with  Douglas, 
whose  power  is  admitted,  and  whom  I  considered 
the  ablest  intellect  in  the  United  States  Senate, 
but  got  a  little  the  better  of  him.  He  has  been 
deliberate  and  slow,  but  when  he  puts  his  foot 
down  it  is  with  the  determination  and  *  certainty 
with  which  our  generals  take  their  steps ;  and, 
like  them,  when  he  takes  a  city  he  never  gives  it 
up.  This  firm  old  man  is  noble  and  kind-hearted. 
He  is  a  child  of  the  people.  Go  to  him  with  a 
story  of  woe,  and  he  will  weep  like  a  child.  This 
man  so  condemned  works  more  hours  than  any 
President  that  ever  occupied  the  chair.  His 
solicitude  for  the  public  welfare  is  never-ceasing. 
I  differed  from  him  at  first  myself,  but  at  last 
felt  and  believed  that  he  was  right,  and  shall  vote 
for  this  brave,  true,  patriotic,  kind-hearted  man. 
All  his  faults  and  mistakes  you  have  seen  ;  all  his 
virtues  you  never  can  know.  His  patience  in 
labor  is  wonderful.  He  works  far  harder  than  any 
man  in  Erie  County.  At  the  head  of  this  great 
nation — look  at  it !  He  has  all  the  bills  to  sign 
passed  by  Congress.  No  one  can  be  appointed  to 


272  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

any  office  without  his  approval.  No  one  can  be 
punished  without  the  judgment  receives  his  sig- 
nature, and  no  one  pardoned  without  his  hand. 
This  man — always  right,  always  just — we  propose 
to  re-elect  now  to  the  Presidency." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

TIIE    SPEECH    AT    GETTYSBURG. 

ONE  of  the  most  important  and  critical  battles 
of  the  Civil  War  took  place  on  the  soil  of  Penn- 
sylvania. The  battle  of  Gettysburg  commenced 
on  the  1st  day  of  July,  1863,  and  lasted  for  three 
days.  The  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  by  Lee's 
forces  was  a  bold  turning  of  the  tables  upon  the 
Federal  forces,  but  fortunately  they  had  a  brave, 
cool,  and  skillful  commander  in  General  Meade, 
who  beat  back  the  Confederates  with  terrible 
loss. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  excitement,  amount- 
ing to  panic,  prevailed  throughout  the  North. 
Had  Lee  been  successful  in  his  bold  movement, 
he  would  probably  have  continued  his  victories 
through  the  State,  and  menaced  more  than  one 
Northern  city.  The  danger  was  averted,  but  the 

victory  was  won  at  large  cost.     The  Federal  loss 
1 R  (378) 


274  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

in  dead,  wounded,  and  missing  amounted  to 
twenty-three  thousand,  though  considerably  lose 
than  the  losses  on  the  other  side.  A  piece  of 
land  adjoining  the  cemetery  of  the  town  was 
given  by  the  State  as  a  last  resting-place  for  the 
loyal  soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  the  battle,  and  on 
the  19th  of  November  it  was  dedicated.  Two 
addresses  were  made  —  one  by  lion.  Edward 
Everett,  which  was  not  unworthy  of  the  eminent 
Massachusetts  orator ;  but  the  second,  though 
brief,  was  a  gem  which  will  live  longer  than  the 
stately  periods  of  Everett.  It  was  by  President 
Lincoln  himself,  and  surprised  even  those  who 
best  appreciated  him.  There  are  few  of  my 
readers  to  whom  it  is  not  familiar,  but  I  can  not 
deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  recording  it  here  : 

"  Four  score  and  seven  years  ago,"  eaid  Mr. 
Lincoln,  "  our  fathers  brought  forth  upon  this 
continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are 
created  equal.  ISTow  we  are  engaged  in  a  great 
civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any 
nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long 
endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of 
that  war.  We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion 


ASH  AH  A  JU  LINCOLN.  275 

of  that  field  as  a  final  resting-place  for  those  who 
here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live. 
It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should 
do  this.  But  in  a  larger  sense  we  can  not  dedi- 
cate, we  can  not  consecrate,  we  can  not  hallow 
this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead, 
who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above 
our  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will 
little  note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here; 
but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is 
for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to 
the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here 
have  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather 
for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  re- 
maining before  us,  that  from  these  honored  dead 
we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which 
they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion ;  that 
we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not 
have  died  in  vain ;  that  this  nation,  under  God, 
shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  the 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and 
for  the  people  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

Is  there  anything  to  be  found  in  the  addresses 
of  any  orator,  ancient  or  modern,  more  elevated 
in  sentiment  or  admirable  in  expression  ?  Yet  the 


278  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

speaker  had  been  reared  in  the  backwoods,  a 
stranger  to  schools  and  colleges,  and  his  eloquence 
was  neither  acquired  nor  inherited.  This  speech 
alone  proclaims  Abraham  Lincoln  a  man  of 
genius. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE     CURTAIN     FALLS. 

AN  Oriental  monarch,  fearing  that  in  the  plen- 
itude of  his  power  he  might  forget  the  common 
fate,  engaged  a  trusted  attendant  from  time  to 
time  to  remind  him  of  his  mortality. 

Abraham  Lincoln  needed  no  such  reminder. 
Before  his  iirst  inauguration,  and  at  intervals  dur- 
ing his  official  life,  he  received  frequent  threat- 
ening letters,  menacing  him  with  death.  These 

o  >  o 

lie  kept  in  a  package  by  themselves.  Though  he 
never  permitted  them  to  influence  his  action,  they 
had  their  natural  effect  njpon  a  mind  and  temper- 
ament subject  to  despondency,  and  not  free  from 
superstition.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  a  strong  impres- 
sion that  he  would  not  live  through  his  term  of 
office.  When,  however,  he  was  inaugurated  for 

a  second  time,  amid  the  plaudits  of  the  nation, 

(27?) 


278  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

and  the  clouds  of  civil  war  seemed  lifting  to  re- 
veal a  brighter  future,  his  spirits,  too,  became 
buoyant,  and  he  permitted  himself  to  believe  that 
all  would  end  well,  and  he  would  be  permitted  to 
reconcile  the  disaffected  States,  and  bring  them 
back  into  the  national  fold.  His  heart  was  full  of 
tenderness  and  magnanimity  toward  the  States  in 
rebellion.  His  large  heart  was  incapable  of  har- 
boring malice,  or  thirsting  for  revenge. 

But  he  was  only  to  come  in  sight  of  the  Prom- 
ised Land.  It  was  for  another  leader  to  finish  his 
weary  and  protracted  task,  and  reap  where  he  had 
sown. 

On  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth  of  April, 
1865,  President  Lincoln  and  wife  with  two  friends 
occupied  a  box  at  Ford's  Theatre,  by  invitation 
of  the  manager,  to  witness  a  performance  of  Tom 
Taylor's  "  American  Cousin."  They  arrived  late, 
and  their  entrance  was  greeted  with  enthusiasm, 
the  large  audience  rising  to  their  feet  and  cheer- 
ing. 

Not  long  afterward,  John  "WTlkes  Booth,  a 
young  actor,  who,  throughout  the  war,  had  made 
no  secret  of  his  sympathy  with  the  Confederate 
cause,  entered  the  theatre,  and,  not  without  did! 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  gfO 

culty,  made  his  way  through  the  crowded  drcoL 
clrcle  to  the  back  of  the  box  in  which  the  Presi- 
dent's party  wTere  seated. 

"  The  President  has  sent  for  me,"  he  said  to 
the  servant,  showing  his  card,  and  thus  he  gained 
admission. 

Standing  in  the  door-way,  after  a  hasty  glance 
at  the  interior,  he  took  a  small  Derringer  pistol 
in  one  hand,  holding  at  the  same  time  a  double- 
edged  dagger  in  the  other,  he  aimed  deliberately 
at  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  sat  in  an  arm-chair,  with  his 
back  to  him.  There  was  a  quick  report,  and  the 
fatal  bullet  had  entered  Mr.  Lincoln's  brain.  Ma- 
jor Rathbone,  the  only  other  gentleman  present 
in  the  box,  quickly  comprehending  the  truth, 
tried  to  seize  the  assassin,  but  he  was  too  quick 
for  him-.  Striking  at  him  with  his  dagger,  he 
sprang  to  the  front  of  the  box,  leaped  upon  the 
stage,  crying  in  a  theatrical  tone,  "Sic  semper 
tyrannis ! "  and  "  The  South  is  avenged  !  "  and, 
favored  by  his  knowledge  of  the  stage,  escaped 
at  the  rear  before  the  actors  and  audience,  stupe- 
fied by  the  suddenness  of  his  act,  could  arrest  hia 
flight. 

Too  well  had  the  assassin  done  his  work !     The 


280  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

President  never  spoke,  or  recovered  conscious- 
ness. He  was  carried  from  the  theatre  to  a  house 
near  at  hand,  where,  at  twenty-two  minutes  past 
seven  the  next  morning,  he  expired,  with  his 
mourning  friends  around  him. 

On  the  same  evening  another  tragedy  came 
near  being  enacted  in  another  part  of  the  city — a 
branch,  no  doubt,  of  the  same  wicked  conspiracy. 
"Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  lay  sick  at  his 
house,  having  been  thrown  from  his  carriage  and 
severely  injured  a  few  days  before.  A  man,  who 
proved  to  be  Lewis  Payne  Powell,  gained  admis- 
sion by  a  subterfuge,  and,  though  warned  by  the 
servant  that  no  one  was  admitted  to  see  Mr.  Sew- 
ard, pushed  past  him  into  the  Secretary's  cham- 
ber. At  the  entrance  the  Secretary's  son,  Mr. 
Frederick  Seward,  forbade  him  to  enter,  but  Pow- 
ell struck  him  upon  the  forehead  with  the  butt  of 
a  pistol,  and,  rushing  to  the  bed,  stabbed  the  help 
less  Secretary  three  times,  and  would  have  killed 
him  but  for  his  nurse,  a  soldier  named  Robinson, 
who  grappled  with  him,  receiving  severe  blows 
in  the  struggle.  Powell  escaped  from  the  house> 
after  stabbing  no  less  than  five  persons. 

To  describe  the  grief,  anger,  and  consternation 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  2 S 1 

which  these  two  tragedies  produced  throughout 
the  country,  would  be  well-nigh  impossible.  Then, 
for  the  iirst  time,  it  became  apparent  how  dear  to 
the  popular  heart  was  the  plain,  honest,  untiring 
man  who,  for  more  than  four  dark  and  gloomy 
years,  had  borne  the  national  burden,  and  labored 
as  best  he  might  to  restore  peace  and  harmony  to 
a  distracted  land. 

The  conspirators  had  been  only  too  successful, 
but  they  had  not  accomplished  all  they  had  in 
view.  It  had  been  expected  that  General  Grant 
would  form  one  of  the  President's  party ;  fortu- 
nately, he  had  excused  himself,  and  left  the  city. 
Could  he,  too,  have  fallen  a  victim,  dark  indeed 
would  have  been  the  daAvning  of  the  next  day, 
and  the  wide-spread  feeling  of  horror  would  have 
been  deepened. 

In  a  recent  conversation  General  Grant  thus 
speaks  of  this  sad  time  :  "  The  darkest  day  of  my 
life  was  the  day  I  heard  of  Lincoln's  assassination. 
I  did  not  know  what  it  meant.  Here  was  the  re- 
bellion put  down  in  the  field,  and  starting  up 
again  in  the  gutters;  we  had  fought  it  as  war, 
now  we  had  to  fight  it  as  assassination.  Lincoln 
was  killed  on  the  14th  of  April.  I  was  busy 


£82  -BO  THO  GI>  A  ND  MANU  0  OD  OF 

sending  out  orders  to  stop  recrniting,  the  pur- 
chase  of  supplies,  and  to  muster  out  the  army. 
Lincoln  had  promised  to  go  to  the  theatre,  and 
wanted  me  to  go  with  him.  While  I  was  with 
the  President  a  letter  came  from  Mrs.  Grant,  say- 
ing that  she  must  leave  Washington  that  night. 
She  wanted  to  go  to  Burlington  to  see  her  chil- 
dren. Some  incident  of  a  trifling  nature  had 
made  her  resolve  to  leave  that  evening.  I  was 
glad  to  have  it  so,  as  I  did  not  want  to  go  to  the 
theatre.  So  I  made  my  excuse  to  Lincoln,  and, 
at  the  proper  hour,  we  started  for  the  train.  As 
we  were  driving  along  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  a 
horseman  rode  past  us  on  a  gallop,  and  back 
again  around  our  carriage,  looking  into  it. 

"  Mrs.  Grant  said  :  '  There  is  the  man  who  sat 

near  us  at  lunch  to-day  with  some  other  men,  and 

.tried  to  overhear  our  conversation.     He  was  so 

rude  that  we  left  the  dining-room.     Here  he  is 

now,  riding  after  us.' 

"  I  thought  it  was  only  curiosity,  but  learned 
afterwards  that    the    horseman  was  Booth.      1 
seemed  that  I  was  to   have   been  attacked,  and 
Mrs.  Grant's  sudden  resolve  to  leave  changed  th  . 
plan.     A  few  days  after  I  received  an  anonymous 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  £83 

letter  from  a  man,  saying  that  he  had  been  de- 
tailed to  kill  me ;  that  he  rode  on  my  train 
as  far  as  Havre  de  Grace,  and  as  my  car  was 
locked  he  failed  to  get  in.  He  thanked  God  that 
he  had  failed.  I  remembered  that  the  conductor 
had  locked  the  car,  but  how  true  the  letter  was  I 
can  not  say.  I  learned  of  the  assassination  as  I 
was  passing  through  Philadelphia.  I  turned 
around,  took  a  special  train,  and  came  on  to  Wash- 
ington. It  was  the  gloomiest  day  of  my  life." 

Of  the  imposing  funeral  ceremonies,  and  the 
manifestations  of  deep  grief  throughout  the  na- 
tion, I  need  not  speak.  As  Dr.  Holland  well 
says :  "  Millions  felt  that  they  had  lost  a  brother, 
or  a  father,  or  a  dear  personal  friend.  It  was  a 
grief  that  brought  the  nation  more  into  family 
sympathy  than  it  had  been  since  the  days  of  the 
Revolution.  Men  came  together  in  public  meet- 
ings, to  give  expression  to  their  grief 

There  were  men  engaged  in  the  rebellion  who 
turned  from  the  deed  with  horror.  Many  of  these 
had  learned  something  of  the  magnanimity  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  character ;  and  they  felt  that  the 
time  would  come  when  the  South  would  need  his 
friendship." 


284  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  Southern 
leaders  countenanced  or  instigated  this  atrocious 
deed.  It  was  the  act  of  a  half-crazed  political 
fanatic,  and  the  few  who  were  in  sympathy  with 
him,  and  cognizant  of  his  plans,  were  men  of  like 
character.  Justice  overtook  them  in  the  end,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  but  they  had  wrought 
irreparable  mischief,  and  plunged  a  whole  people 
kito  mourning. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
MR.  HERNDON'S  ESTIMATE  OF  MR.  LINCOLN. 

No  one  probably  was  better  fitted  to  give  a 
discriminating  analysis  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character 
than  Mr.  W.  H.  Herndon,  for  more  than  twenty 
years  his  law-partner.  From  an  address  delivered 
at  Springfield,  111.,  Dec.  12,  1865,  by  that  gen- 
tleman, I  shall,  therefore,  quote  freely,  without 
indorsing  everything  that  is  said,  but  submitting 
it  as  the  opinion  of  a  man  who  knew  Mr.  Lincoln 
well : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  read  less  and  thought  more  than 
any  man  in  his  sphere  in  America.  No  man  can 
put  his  finger  on  any  great  book  written  in  the 
last  or  present  century  that  he  read.  "When 
young  he  read  the  Bible,  and  when  of  age  he 
read  Shakespeare.  This  latter  book  was  scarcely 
ever  out  of  his  mind.  Mr.  Lincoln  is  acknowl- 

(285) 


286  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

edged  to  have  been  a  great  man,  but  the  ques- 
tion is,  Y/hat  made  him  great  ?  1  repeat  that  he 
read  less  and  thought  more  than  any  man  of  his 
standing  in  America,  if  not  in  the  world.  lie 
possessed  originality  and  power  of  thought  in  an 
eminent  degree.  He  was  cautious,  cool,  concen- 
trated, with  continuity  of  reflection  ;  was  patient 
and  enduring.  These  are  some  of  the  grounds  of 
his  wonderful  success. 

"Not  only  was  nature,  man,  fact,  and  principle 
suggestive  to  Mr.  Lincoln — not  only  had  he  accu- 
rate and  exact  perceptions,  but  he  was  causative ; 
i.e.,  his  mind  ran  back  behind  all  facts,  things, 
:.nd  principles  to  their  origin,  history,  and  first 
cause, — to  that  point  where  forces  act  at  once  as 
effect  and  cause.  He  would  stop  and  stand  in  the 
street  and  analyze  a  machine.  He  would  whittle 
things  to  a  point,  and  then  count  the  numberless 
inclined  planes  and  their  pitch,  making  the  point. 
Mastering  and  defining  this,  he  would  then  cut 
that  point  back  and  get  a  broad  transverse  section 
of  his  pine  stick  and  point  and  define  that.  Clocks, 
omnibuses,  and  language,  paddle-wheels,  and 
idioms,  never  escaped  his  observation  and  analy- 
sis. Before  he  could  form  any  idea  of  anything 


LINCOLN.  287 

— before  he  would  express  his  opinion  on  any 
subject,  he  must  know  it  in  origin  and  history, 
in  substance  and  quality,  in  magnitude  and 
gravity.  He  must  know  his  subject  inside  and 
outside,  upside  and  downside.  He  searched  his 
own  mind  and  nature  thoroughly,  as  I  have  often 
heard  him  say.  Pie  must  analyze  a  sensation,  an 
idea,  and  words,  and  run  them  back  to  their  or- 
igin, history,  purpose,  and  destiny." 

"  All  things,  facts,  and  principles  had  to  run 
through  his  crucible  and  be  tested  by  the  fires  of 
his  analytic  mind  ;  and  hence,  when  he  did  speak, 
his  utterances  rang  out  gold-like — quick,  keen, 
and  current — upon  the  counters  of  the  understand- 
ing. He  reasoned  logically,  through  analogy  and 
comparison.  All  opponents  dreaded  him  in  his 
originality  of  idea,  condensation,  definition,  and 
foice  of  expression,  and  woe  be  to  the  man  who 
hugged  to  his  bosom  a  secret  error  if  Mr.  Lincoln 
got  on  the  chase  of  it !  1  say,  woe  to  him  ! 
Time  could  hide  the  error  in  no  nook  or  corner 
of  space  in  which  he  would  not  detect  and  ex- 
pose it." 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  w;?.s  a  peculiar  man,  having  a  pe- 
culiar mind.     He  was  gifted  with  a  peculiarity — 


288  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

namely,  a  new  lookout  on  nature.  Everything 
had  to  be  newly  created  for  him — facts  newly 
gathered,  newly  arranged,  and  newly  classed.  He 
had  no  faith.,  as  already  expressed.  In  order  to 
Relieve,  he  must  see  and  feel  and  thrust  his  hand 
into  the  place.  Such  a  mind  as  this  must  act 
strongly, — must  have  its  time.  His  forte  and 
power  lay  in  his  love  of  digging  out  for  himself 
and  hunting  up  for  his  own  mind  its  own  food, 
to  be  assimilated  unto  itself;  and  then,  in  time, 
he  could  and  would  form  opinions  and  conclu- 
sions that  no  human  power  could  overthrow. 
They  were  as  irresistible  as  iron  thunder,  as  pow- 
erful as  logic  embodied  in  mathematics." 

"  An  additional  question  naturally  suggests  it- 
self here,  and  it  is  this :  Had  Mr.  Lincoln  great, 
good  common  sense  ?  Different  persons  of  equal 
capacity  and  honesty  hold  different  views  on  this 
question — one  class  answering  in  the  affirmative 
and  the  other  in  the  negative. 

"  These  various  opinions  necessarily  spring  out 
of  the  question  just  discussed.  If  the  true  test  is 
that  a  man  shall  quickly,  wisely,  and  well  judge 
che  rapid  rush  and  whirl  of  human  transactions  as 
accurately  as  though  indefinite  time  and  proper 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  £89 

conditions  were  at  his  disposal,  then  I  am  com- 
pelled to  follow  the  logic  of  things,  and  say  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  no  more  than  ordinary  common 
sense.  The  world,  men,  and  their  actions  must 
be  judged  as  they  rush  and  pass  along.  They  will 
not  wait  on  us — will  not  stay  for  onr  logic  and 
analysis;  they  must  be  seized  as  they  ran.  We 
all  our  life  act  on  the  ^moment.  Mr.  Lincoln 
knew  himself,  and  never  trusted  his  dollar  or  his 
fame  on  his  casual  opinions;  he  never  acted  hast- 
ily on  great  matters." 

"  The  great  predominating  elements  of  Mr. 
Lhicoln's  peculiar  character  were — first,  his  great 
capacity  and  power  of  reason  ;  secondly,  his  excel- 
lent understanding;  thirdly,  an  exalted  idea  of 
the  sense  of  right  and  equity ;  and  fourthly,  his 
intense  veneration  of  what  was  true  and  good. 
His  reason  ruled  despotically  all  other  faculties 
and  qualities  of  his  mind.  His  conscience  and 
heart  were  ruled  by  it.  His  conscience  was  ruled 
by  one  faculty — reason  ;  his  heart  was  ruled  by 
two  faculties — reason  and  conscience.  I  know  it 
is  generally  believed  that  Mr.  Lincoln's  heart,  his 
love  and  kindness,  his  tenderness  and  benevolence 

wore  his  ruling  qualities;  but  tin's  opinion  is  er- 

10 


290  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OP 

roneotn  in  every  particular.  First,  as  to  his  rea- 
son. He  dwelt  in  the  mind ;  not  in  the  con- 
science, and  not  in  the  heart.  He  lived  and 
breathed  and  acted  from  his  reason, — the  throne 
of  logic  and  the  home  of  principle,  the  realm  of 
Deity  in  man.  It  is  from  this  point  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln must  be  viewed.  His  views  were  correct  and 
original.  He  was  cautions  not  to  be  deceived ;  he 
was  patient  and  enduring.  He  had  concentration 
and  great  continuity  of  thought ;  he  had  a  pro- 
found analytic  power ;  his  vision  was  clear,  and 
he  was  emphatically  the  master  of  statement. 
His  pursuit  of  the  truth  was  indefatigable — terri- 
ble. He  reasoned  from  his  well-chosen  princi- 
ples with  such  clearness,  force,  and  compactness, 
that  the  tallest  intellects  in  the  land  bowed  to  him 
with  respect.  He  was  the  strongest  man  1  ever 
saw — looking  at  him  from  the  stand-point  of  his 
reason,  the  throne  of  his  logic.  He  came  from 
that  height  with  an  irresistible  and  crushing 
force.  His  printed  speeches  will  prove  this  ; 
but  his  speeches  before  courts,  especially  before 
the  Supreme  Courts  of  the  State  and  Nation, 
would  demonstrate  it.  Unfortunately  none  of 
them  have  been  preserved.  Here  he  demanded 


ARRAHAJl  LINCOLN.  291 

time  to  think  and  prepare.  The  office  of  reason 
is  to  determine  the  truth.  Truth  is  the  power  of 
reason — the  child  of  reason.  He  loved  and  idol- 
ized truth  for  its  own  sake.  It  was  reason's  food. 
"  Conscience,  the  second  great  quality  and  forta 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character,  is  that  faculty  which 
loves  the  just.  Its  office  is  justice ;  right  and 
equity  are  its  correlatives.  It  decides  upon  all 
acts  of  all  people  at  all  times.  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
a  deep,  broad,  living  conscience.  His  great  rea- 
son told  him  what  was  true,  good  and  bad,  right, 
wrong,  just  or  unjust,  and  his  conscience  echoed 
back  its  decision  ;  and  it  was  from  this  po^'nt  that 
he  acted  and  spoke  and  wove  his  character  and 
fame  among  us.  His  conscience  ruled  his  heart ; 
he  was  always  just  before  he  was  gracious.  This 
was  his  motto — his  glory  ;  and  this  is  as  it  should 
be.  It  can  not  be  truthfully  said  of  any  mortal 
man  that  he  was  always  just.  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
not  always  just,  but  his  general  life  was.  It  fol- 
lows that  if  Mr.  Lincoln  had  great  reason  and 
great  conscience,  he  was  an  honest  man.  His 
great  and  general  life  was  honest,  and  he  was 
justly  and  rightfully  entitled  to  the  appellation, 
'  Honest  Abe ! '  Honesty  was  his  great  polar  star. 


292       BOYHOOD  AXD  MANHOOD  OF 

"Mr.  Lincoln  had  also  a  good  understanding ; 
that  is,  the  faculty  that  understands  and  compre- 
hends the  exact  state  of  things,  their  near  and  re- 
mote relation.  The  understanding  does  not  nec- 
essarily inquire  for  the  reason  of  things.  I  must 
here  repeat  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  odd  and  orig- 
inal man  ;  he  lived  by  himsslf  and  out  of  himself. 
He  could  not  absorb.  He  was  a  very  sensitive 
man,  unobtrusive  and  gentlemanly,  and  often  hid 
himself  in  the  common  mass  of  men,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  discovery  of  his  individuality.  He 
had  no  insulting  egotism  and  no  pompous  pride ; 
no  haughtiness  and  no  aristocracy.  He  was  not 
indifferent,  however,  to  approbation  and  public 
opinion.  He  was  not  an  upstart  and  had  no  inso- 
lence. He  was  a  meek,  quiet,  unobtrusive  gen- 
tleman. Theso  qualities  of  his  nature  merged 
somewhat  his  identities.  Head  Mr.  Lincoln's 
speeches,  letters,  messages,  and  proclamations ; 
read  his  whole  record  in  his  actual  life,  and  you 
can  not  fail  to  perceive  that  he  had  good  under- 
standing. He  understood  and  fully  comprehended 
himself;  and  what  he  did,  and  why  he  did  it,  bet- 
ter than  most  living  men." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  293 

"There  are  two  opinions — radically  different 
opinions — expressed  about  Mr.  Lincoln's  will  by 
men  of  equal  and  much  capacity.  One  opinion 
is  that  ho  had  no  will,  and  the  other  is  that  he  was 
all  will— omni potently  so.  These  two  opinions 
are  loudly  and  honestly  affirmed.  Mr.  Lincoln's 
mind  loved  the  true,  the  right,  and  good — all  the 
great  truths  and  principles  in  the  mind  of  man. 
He  loved  the  true  first,  the  right  second,  and  the 
good  the  least.  Hid  mind  struggled  for  truths  and 
his  soul  for  substances.  Neither  in  his  heart  nor 
ill  his  soul  did  he  care  for  forms,  methods,  ways, 
— the  new-substantial  facts  or  things.  He  could 
not  by  his  very  structure  and  formation  in  mind 
and  body  care  anything  about  them.  He  did  not 
intensely  or  much  care  for  particular  individual 
man — dollar,  property,  rank,  order,  manners,  and 
such  like  things.  He  had  no  avarice  in  his  nat- 
ure, or  other  like  vice What  suited  a  lit- 
tle, narrow,  critical  mind,  did  not  suit  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's, any  more  than  a  child's  clothes  did  his 
body.  Generally,  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  take  any 
interest  in  little  local  elections — town  meetings. 
He  attended  no  gatherings  that  pertained  to  local 
or  other  such  interests,  saving  general  politic-al 


294       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

ones.  He  did  not  care  (because  he  cotild  not  in 
his  nature)  who  succeeded  to  the  presidency  of 
this  or  that  Christian  Association  or  Railroad 
Convention ;  who  made  the  most  money ;  who 
was  going  to  Philadelphia;  when  and  for  what; 
and  what  were  the  costs  of  such  a  trip.  He  could 
not  care  who  among  friends  got  this  office  or  that 
— who  got  to  be  street  inspector  or  alley  commis- 
sioner. jSTo  principle  of  goodness,  of  truth,  or 
right  was  here.  How  could  he  be  moved  by 
such  things  as  these  ?  He  could  not  understand 
why  men  struggled  for  such  things.  He  made 
this  remark  to  me  one  day — I  think  at  Washing- 
ton :  '  If  ever  this  free  people — if  this  Govern- 
ment itself  is  ever  utterly  demoralized,  it  will 
come  from  this  human  wriggle  and  straggle  for 
office ;  a  way  to  live  without  work ;  from  which 
nature  I  am  not  free  myself.'  It  puzzled  him  a 
good  deal  at  Washington  to  know  and  to  get  at  the 
root  of  this  dread  desire, — this  contagious  disease 
of  national  robbery  in  the  nation's  death-struggle. 
"Because  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  feel  any  inter- 
est in  such  little  things  as  I  have  spoken  of,  nor 
feel  any  particular  interest  in  the  success  of  tho^e 
who  were  then  struggling  and  wriggling,  he  was 


AWAUAM  LINCOLN.  295 

called  indifferent — nay,  ungrateful — to  his  friends. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  with  men  who  have 
aided  Mr.  Lincoln  all  their  life.  Mr.  Lincoln  al- 
ways and  everywhere  wished  his  friends  well ;  he 
loved  his  friend?,  and  clung  to  them  tenaciously, 
like  iron  to  iron  welded ;  yet  he  could  not  be  act- 
ively and  energetically  aroused  to  the  true  sense 
of  his  friends'  particularly  strong  feelings  of  anx- 
iety for  office.  From  this  fact  Mr.  Lincoln  has 
been  called  ungrateful.  He  was  not  an  ungrate- 
ful man  by  any  means.  He  may  have  been  a 
cool  man — a  passive  man  in  his  general  life;  yet 
he  was  not  ungrateful.  Ingratitude  is  too  posi- 
tive a  word — it  doss  not  convey  the  truth.  Mr. 
Lincoln  may  not  have  measured  his  friendly  du- 
ties by  the  applicant's  hot  desire ;  I  admit  this. 
He  was  not  a  selfish  man, — if  by  selfishness  is 
meant  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  do  any  act,  even  to 
promote  himself  to  the  Presidency,  if  by  that  act 
any  human  being  was  wronged.  If  it  is  said  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  preferred  Abraham  Lincoln  to 
any  one  else  in  the  pursuit  of  his  ambitions,  and 
that,  because  of  this,  he  was  a  selfish  man,  then  I 
can  see  no  objections  to  such  an  idea,  for  this  is 
universal  human  nature. 


206  BOYHOOD  AXD  MANHOOD  OP 

"  It  must  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Lincoln's 
mind  acted  logically,  cautiously,  and  slowly.  Now, 
Laving  stated  tlie  above  facts,  the  question  of  his 
will  and  its  power  is  easily  solved.  Be  it  remem- 
bered that  Mr.  Lincoln  cared  nothing  for 
simple  facts,  manners,  modes,  ways,  and 
such  like  things.  Be  it  remembered,  that 
he  did  care  for  trath,  for  right,  fo.-  principle, 
for  all  that  pertains  to  the  good.  In  relation 
to  simple  facts,  unrelated  to  substance,  forms, 
rules,  methods,  ways,  manners,  he  cared  nothing ; 
and  if  he  could  be  aroused,  he  would  do  anything 
for  anybody  at  any  time,  as  well  foe  as  friend.  As 
a  politician  he  would  courteously  grant  all  facts 
and  forms — all  non-essential  things — to  his  oppo- 
nent. He  did  so  because  he  did  not  care  for 
them  ;  they  were  rubbish,  husks,  trash.  On  the 
question  of  substance,  he  hung  and  clung  with  all 
his  might.  On  questions  of  truth,  justice,  right, 
the  good,  on  principle — his  will  was  as  firm  as 

steel  and  as  tenacious  as  iron Ask   Mr. 

Lincoln  to  do  a  wrong  thing,  and  he  would  scorn 
the  request ;  ask  him  to  do  an  unjust  thing,  and 
he  would  cry  '  Begone ! '  ask  him  to  sacrifice  his 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  297 

convictions  of  the  truth,  and  his  soul  would  indig- 
nantly exclaim,  '  The  world  perish  first ! ' ' 

"Mr.  Lincoln  sometimes  walked  our  streets 
cheerily,  good-hum oredly,  perhaps  joyously — and 
then  it  was,  on  meeting  a  friend,  he  cried,  '  How 
d'ye?'  clasping  one  of  his  friend's  hands  in  both 
of  his,  giving  a  good,  hearty  soul-welcome.  Of 
a  winter's  morning  he  might  be  seen  stalking  and 
stilting  it  toward  the  market-house,  basket  on  arm, 
his  old  gray  shawl  wrapped  around  his  neck,  his 
little  Willie  or  Tad  running  along  at  his  heels, 
asking  a  thousand  little  quick  questions,  which 
his  father  heard  not,  not  even  then  knowing  that 
little  Willie  or  Tad  was  there,  so  abstracted  was 
he.  When  he  thus  met  a  friend,  he  said  that 
something  put  him  in  mind  of  a  story  which  he 
heard  in  Indiana  or  elsewhere,  and  tell  it  he  wrould, 
and  there  was  no  alternative  but  to  listen. 

"  Thus,  I  say,  stood  and  walked  and  looked  this 
singular  man.  He  was  odd,  but  when  that  gray 
eye  and  face,  and  every  feature  were  lit  up  by  the 
inward  soul  in  fires  of  emotion,  then  it  was  that 
all  those  apparently  ugly  features  sprang  into  or- 


298  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

gaus  of  beauty,  or  sunk  themselves  into  a  sea  of 
inspiration  that  sometimes  flooded  his  face.  Some- 
times it  appeared  to  me  that  Lincoln's  soul  was 
just  fresh  from  the  presence  of  its  Creator." 

"  This  man,  this  long,  bony,  wiry,  sad  man,  float- 
ed into  our  county  in  1831,  in  a  frail  canoe,  down 
the  north  fork  of  the  Sangamon  River,  friendless, 
penniless,  powerless,  and  alone — begging  for  work 
in  this  city, — ragged,  struggling  for  the  common 
necessaries  of  life.  This  man,  this  peculiar  man, 
'left  us,  in  1861,  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  backed  by  friends  and  power,  by  fame 
and  all  human  force;  and  it  is  well  to  inquire 
how  ? 

"  To  sum  up,  let  us  say,  here  is  a  sensitive,  dif- 
fident, unobtrusive,  natural-made  gentleman.  His 
mind  was  strong  and  deep,  sincere  and  honest, 
patient  and  enduring ;  having  no  vices  and  having 
only  negative  defects,  with  many  positive  virtues. 
His  is  a  strong,  honest,  sagacious,  manly,  noble 
life.  He  stands  in  the  foremost  rank  of  men  in 
all  ages, — their  equal, — one  of  the  best  types  oi 
this  Christian  civilization." 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

ME.  LINCOLN'S  FAVORITE  POEM. 

ONE  evening  when  Mr.  Carpenter,  the  artist, 
was  alone  with  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  study,  the 
President  said  :  "  There  is  a  poem  that  has  been 
a  great  favorite  with  me  for  years,  to  which  my 
attention  was  first  called  when  a  young  man,  by  a 
friend,  and  which  I  afterward  saw  and  cut  from 
a  newspaper  and  carried  in  my  pocket  till,  by  fre- 
quent reading,  I  had  it  by  heart.  I  would  give 
a  great  deal  to  know  who  wrote  it,  but  I  could 
never  ascertain." 

He  then  repeated  the  poem,  now  familiar  to  the 
public,  commencing,  "  Oh  !  why  should  the  spirit 
of  mortal  be  proud  ?  " 

This  poem,,  which  was  written  by  William 
Knox,  a  young  Scotchman,  a  contemporary  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  suits  well  the  thoughtful,  melan- 
choly mood  habitual  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  It  is  said 

(209) 


300 

that  a  man  may  be  known  by  his  favorite  poem. 
Whether  this  can  be  said  of  men  in  general  may 
be  doubted.  In  the  case  of  Abraham  Lincoln  I 
think  those  who  knew  him  best  would  agree  that 
the  sadness  underlying  the  poem  found  an  echo 
in  the  temperament  he  inherited  from  his  mother. 
I  am  sure  my  readers  will  be  glad  to  find  the 
poem  recorded  here,  even  though  they  may  have 
met  with  it  before : 

Oh  !  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 
Like  a  swift  fleeting  meteor,  a  fast-flving  cloud, 
A  flash  of  the  lightning,  a  break  of  t!ie  wave, 
He  passeth  from  life  to  his  rest  in  the  grave. 

The  leaves  of  tho  oak  and  the  willow  shall  fade, 
Be  scattered  around  and  together  belaid; 
And  the  youn;T  an  1  the  old,  the  low  and  the  high, 
Shall  moulder  to  dust,  and  together  shall  lie — 

The  infant  a  mother  attended  and  loved  ; 
The  mother  that  infant's  affection  who  proved: 
The  husb  md,  that  mo'her  and  infant  who  blest — 
Each,  all,  are  away  to  their  dwellings  of  rest. 

The  maid  on  whose  cheek,  on  whose  brow,  in  whose  eye, 
Shone  beauty  and  pleasure, — her  triumphs  are  by  ; 
And  t'  e  memory  of  those  who  loved  her  and  praised, 
Are  alike  fivni  the  minds  of  the  living  erased. 

The  hand  of  the  king  fiat  the  sceptre  ha'h  borne, 
The  brow  of  tlse  priest  tlint  the  nvtre  hath  worn, 


ABR.ill.Ui  LENCOLX.  3<)1 

The  oye  of  the  sage  and  the  heart  of  the  brave, 
Are  hidckn  and  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  grave. 

The  pea3;mt,  whose  lot  was  to  sow  and  to  reap, 
The  herdsman,  wlio  c'imbod  with  his  goats  up  the  steep, 
The  beggar,  who  wandered  in  search  of  his  bread, 
Have  faded  away  like  the  grass  that  we  tread. 

The  siint,  who  enjoyed  the  communion  of  Heaven, 
Tlie  sinner,  who  dared  to  remain  unforgiven. 
The  \vi«e  and  the  foolish,  the  guilty  and  just, 
Have  quie  ly  mingled  their  bones  in  the  dust. 

So  the  multitude  goes — like  the  flower  or  the  weed 
That  withers  away  to  let  others  succeed ; 
So  the  multitude  comes — even  those  we  behold, 
To  repeat  every  tale  that  has  often  teen  told. 

For  we  are  the  same  our  fathers  have  been  ; 
We  see  the  same  sights  our  fathers  have  seen ; 
We  drink  the  same  stream,  wo  view  the  same  sun, 
And  run  the  same  course  our  fathers  have  run. 

Tlie  thoughts  we  are  thinking  our  fathers  wo'ild  think  ; 
From  the  death  we  are  shrinking,  our  fathers  would  shrink 
To  the  life  we  are  clinging,  they  also  would  cling, — 
But  it  speeds  from  us  all  like  a  bird  on  the  wing. 

They  loved — but  the  story  we  can  not  unfold  ; 
They  scorned— but  the  heart  of  the  haughty  is  cold  ; 
They  grieved — but  no  wail  froai  their  slumber  will  come  ; 
•  They  joyed — but  the  tongue  of  their  gladness  is  dumb. 

They  died — ay,  they  died ;  we  things  that  are  now, 
That  walk  on  the  turf  that  lies  over  their  brow, 


303  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

I 

And  make  in  their  dwellings  a  transient  abode, 

Meet  the  things  that  they  met  on  their  pilgrimage  road. 

'Tis  the  wink  of  an  eye — 'tis  the  draught  of  a  breath — 
From  the  blossom  of  health  to  the  paleness  of  death, 
From  the  gilded  saloon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud  : — 
Oh  !  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud? 

The  last  stanza  will  call  to  mind  the  startling 
suddenness  with  which  Abraham  Lincoln,  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  a  great  nation,  passed  from 
the  summit  of  power  to  the  solemn  stillness  of 
death.  Was  it  a  sad,  prophetic  instinct  that  caused 
the  mind  of  the  great  martyr  to  dwell  so  constant, 
ly  upon  these  solemn  strains? 

No  man  seems  to  have  been  more  clearly  indi- 
cated as  the  instrument  of  Providence  than  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  It  seems  strange  in  the  eyes  of 
men  that  a  rough  youth,  born  and  reared  in  the 
backwoods,  without  early  educational  advantages, 
homely  and  awkward,  and  with  no  polish  of  man- 
ner save  that  which  proceeded  from  a  good  heart, 
should  have  been  selected  as  the  Guide  and  Savior 
of  a  great  nation.  But  God's  ways  are  not  as  our 
ways,  nor  is  His  choice  as  ours.  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
this  advantage, — coming  from  the  ranks  of  the 
people,  he  never  lost  sight  of  his  sympathy  for 


AJr  LINCOLN.  303 

his  class.     His  nature  and  his  sympathies  were 
broad  and  nnconiined. 

He  has  been  well  described  by  one  reared  like 
himself,  in  the  f rejs  atmosphere  of  the  "West : 
"  Nearly  every  great  figure  of  history  is  a  kind  of 
great  monstrosity.  We  know  nothing  about 
Washington.  He  is  a  steel  engraving.  No  dirt 
of  humanity  clings  to  his  boots.  Lincoln  lived 
where  men  were  free  and  equal,  and  was  acquaint- 
ed with  the  people,  not  much  with  books.  Every 
man  is  in  some  sort  a  book.  He  lived  the  poem 
of  the  year  in  the  fields,  the  woods,  the  blessed 
country.  Lincoln  had  the  advantage  of  sociabil- 
ity. He  was  thoughtful,  and  saw  on  the  horizon 
of  his  future  the  perpetual  star  of  hope.  To 
him  every  field  was  a  landscape  ;  every  landscape 
a  poem  ;  every  poem  a  lesson,  and  every  grove  a 
fairy  land.  Oaks  and  elms  are  far  more  poetical 
than  streets  or  houses.  A  country  life  is  in  itself 
an  education.  It  gives  the  man  an  idea  of  home. 
He  hears  the  rain  on  the  roofs,  the  rustle  of  the 
breeze,  the  music  of  nature's  fullest  coiitro1.  You 
have  no  idea  how  many  men  education  spoils. 
Lincoln's  education  was  derived  from  men  and 
things,  and  hence  he  had  a  chance  to  develop. 


304  BOYHOOD  AND  M.LFHOOD  OF 

lie  had  many  sides.  He  not  only  had  langbter, 
but  he  had  tears,  and  never  that  kind  of  solemni- 
ty which  is  a  wash  to  hide  the  features.  He  was 
'iOt  afraid  to  seek  for  knowledge  where  he  had  it 
tot.  When  a  man  is  too  dignified  he  ceases  to 
earn.  He  was  always  honest  with  himself.  He 
iras  an  orator ;  that  is,  he  was  natural.  If  you 
A?ish  to  be  sublime  you  must  keep  close  to  the 
grass.  You  must  sit  close  to  the  heart  of  human 
experience — above  the  clouds  it  is  too  cold.  If 
you  want  to  know  the  difference  between  an  ora- 
tor and  a  speaker  read  the  oration  of  Lincoln  at 
Gettysburg,  and  then  read  the  speech  of  Everett 
at  the  same  place.  One  came  from  the  heart,  the 
other  was  from  out  of  the  voice.  Lincoln's  speech 
vnll  be  remembered  forever.  Everett's  no  mau 
will  read.  It  was  like  plucked  flowers. 

"  If  you  want  to  find  out  what  a  man  is  to  the 
bottom,  give  him  power.  Any  man  can  stand 
adversity — only  a  great  man  can  stand  prosperity. 
It  is  the  glory  of  Abraham  Lincoln  that  he  never 
abused  power  only  on  the  side  of  mercy.  When 
he  had  power  he  used  it  in  mercy.  He  loved  to 
see  the  tears  of  the  wife  whose  husband  he  had 
snatched  from  death." 


AURA  RAM  LINCOLN.  305 

I  draw  near  the  close  of  my  task,  having  given, 
as  I  hope,  some  fair  idea  of  one  whose  memory 
will  always  remain  dear  to  the  hearts  of  his  coun- 
trymen. In  that  chequered  life  there  is  much  to 
imitate,  much  to  admire,  little  to  avoid  or  censure. 
Happy  will  be  the  day  when  our  public  men  copy 
his  unselfishness,  his  patriotic  devotion  to  duty  ! 

Within  a  few  months,  on  the  eighteenth  anni- 
versary of  Mr.  Lincoln's  assassination,  a  poem 
was  read  at  his  grave  by  John  II.  Bryant,  of 
Princeton,  which  will  fitly  close  my  story  of  the 
Backwoods  Boy: 

Not  one  of  all  earth's  wise  and  great 

Hath  earned  a  purer  gratitude 

Than  the  great  Soul  whose  hallowed  dust 

This  structure  holds  in  sacred  trust. 

» 

How  fierce  the  strife  that  rent  the  land, 
When  he  was  summoned  to  command; 
"With  what  wise  care  he  led  us  through 
The  fearful  ttornis  that  'round  us  blew. 

Calm,  patient,  hopeful,  undismayed, 

He  mi-t  the  angry  hosts  arrayed 

For  bloody  war,  and  overcame 

Their  haughty  power  in  Freedom's  narne. 

'Mid  taunts  and  doubts,  the  bondsman's  chain 
With  gentle  force  he  cleft  in  twain, 
20 


306       BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

And  raised  four  million  slaves  to  be 
The  chartered  sons  of  Liberty. 

No  debt  he  owed  to  wealth  or  birth  ; 
By  force  of  solid,  honest  worth 
He  climbed  the  topmost  height  of  fame, 
And  wrote  thereon  a  spotless  name. 

Oh  !  when  the  felon  hand  laid  low 
That  sacred  head,  what  sudden  woe 
Shot  to  the  Nation's  farthest  bound, 
And  every  bosom  felt  the  wound. 

Well  might  the  Nation  bow  in  grief, 
And  weep  above  the  fallen  chief, 
Who  ever  strove,  by  word  or  pen, 
For  ';  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men." 

The  people  loved  him,  for  they  knew, 
Each  pulse  of  his  large  heart  was  true 
To  them,  to  Freedom,  and  the  right, 
Unswayed  by  gain,  unawed  by  might.      ,. 

This  tomb,  by  loving  hands  up-piled, 
To  him,  the  merciful  and  mild, 
From  nge  to  age  shall  carry  down 
The  glory  of  his  great  renown. 

As  the  long  centuries  onward  flow, 

As  generations  come  and  go, 

Wide  and  more  wide  his  fame  shall  spread, 

And  greener  laurels  crown  his  head. 

And  when  this  pile  is  fall'n  to  dust, 
Its  bronzes  crumbled  into  rust, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  307 

Thy  name,  O  Lincoln  !  still  shall  be 
Revered  and  loved  from  sea  to  sea. 

India's  swart  millions,  'neath  their  p:\1ms, 
Shall  sing  thy  praise  in  grateful  psalms, 
And  crowds  by  Congo's  turbid  wave 
Bless  the  good  hand  that  freed  the  slave. 

Shine  on,  0  Star  of  Freedom,  shine, 
Till  all  the  realms  of  earth  are  thine; 
Aud  all  the  tiibes,  through  countless  days, 
Shall  bask  in  thy  benignant  rays. 

Lord  of  the  Nations  !  grant  us  still 
Another  patriot  sage,  to  fill 
The  seat  of  power,  and  save  the  State 
From  selfish  greed.    For  this  we  wait. 


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